Flame
by RedCommander72
Summary: What if Kurapika wasn't alone when taking the hunter exam? what if he had a travelling partner that hit it off really well with Gon and Killua. Will she stay with Kurapika and help him achieve his goal or will the two part ways? And what would happen if Killua grew a soft spot for her? KilluaxOc
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

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The weather was warm and the skies were dotted with fluffy white clouds with a soft breeze, perfect for sailing. Two young teens were looking out over the ocean as their ship was about to depart from Whale Island to go to the hunter exam.

The male with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes around 17 years old with a feminine facial structure, was currently leaning against the rail of the boat with his forearm resting on the ledge with his body facing the younger female next to him sitting on the ledge. He wore a plain white training suit with a traditional blue Kurta turban over the training suit. Around his neck under his clothes was a special necklace, a scarlet red crystal connected to a silver chain.

The young girl a waist length black hair which she kept in a bun at the back of her head with bangs to frame her face with two strands that reach her shoulder either side of her head. She had toxic green eyes with a tint of yellow around the pupil. She wore a sleeveless V neck that ended mid-thigh with biker shorts underneath, a sleeveless fishnet under the shirt that could be seen at the neck of the over shirt and a maroon soft material belt around her waist.

She had black open toe shoes with small platforms on the heels, black thigh high socks with a maroon leg warmer that started at her ankle and ended just under her knee on her right leg. On her arms she had black arm warmers that began at her knuckles and ended after her elbows on both arms. Around her neck was a maroon scarf that wrapped several times around and worked as a hood if needed. It cover her shoulders and was a special gift from the older blonde next to her.

Together they relaxed just watching the ocean together with the blackette swinging her legs calming over the side of the boat.

There was a commotion behind them as a young boy around her age clad in green with a fishing rod shouted to the people of Whale Island; his home the two decided mentally, about coming back as the worlds' best hunter.

The men on the boat began to mock him as the two ignored everyone around them just like a man in a blue suit with black glasses continued to read his book.

The boy didn't seem too bothered as he walked past the two with his hands on his backpack's straps. The blonde of the duo watched the young boy walk past out of the corner of his eye. The carefree air around the boy interested him, he was definitely was going to keep his eye on the boy.

The girl next to him turned to him as if she heard his thoughts, "Hey Kurapika, that boy interests you doesn't he?" She asked softly with a gently smile on her pale face.

The boy, Kurapika, nodded and smiled back with his free hand on her head that wasn't covered with her scarf he had given her when she had gotten seriously hurt once, like it usually was when out in public. "I must admit he does, he seems very innocent. He reminds me a little of you Phoenix" Kurapika added as he rubbed her head before dropping his hand to his side again.

Phoenix only blinked curiously before turning her head to observe the boy trying to understand what her friend was talking about. Beside her Kurapika chuckled as he knew exactly what she was doing.

She looked around a bit before finding him on top on the watch area looking down at the captain with a look of certainty while the birds were going crazy in the air, "It's a huge storm that's coming!"  
When the captain looked surprised he added, "It's true, I can tell from the smell!" The captain seemed to be looking at the boy before coming to a realization about something before ordering everyone below deck and telling the sailors to get to work.

Later on the ship was swaying to and fro like a seesaw at a playground, all the men who were making fun of the young green clan boy were all groaning and moaning from the seasickness.

 _'Karma'_ Phoenix thought, smirking to herself as she sat at the end of the hammock she was sharing with Kurapika, who had his feet on his feet on her lap as he read. Phoenix absent mildly played with the ends on his pants as she watched the people in the room roll around with the waves with amusement.

Looking around she noticed the little boy wasn't affected by the roughness of the sea and was even helping people with their seasickness. There was also the man in the suit was sitting in the corner eating an apple, also not bothered by the roughness. Turning to Kurapika next she watch him read, his eyes showing his interests in the book he was reading.

She had always found it interesting the way eyes would not only show their emotions but could also show nothing at all.

Feeling someone staring at him Kurapika looked up and found Phoenix watching him with a distant look in her eyes. Kurapika knew the look was just her getting lost in thought about something simple and smile secretly and nudge her stomach with his foot gently so he didn't hurt but snap her out of her thoughts, which seemed to work because her eyes came back into focus.

Phoenix focused back on Kurapika when she felt his foot nudging her stomach. Kurapika had an eyebrow raised, silently asking what she was thinking about but Phoenix only smiled cheekily back at him making him chuckle under his breath before going back to his book.

Before Phoenix cause go back to observing to males in the room considering she was the only female on board the door to the room open to reveal the captain. She seemed to be the only one who noticed but she knew better after being with Kurapika for a few years that he was always aware of what was going on around him.

Her eyes locked with the captains for a second before he looked at the others in the room and made a mental note to not to cross him. Not even a second after the thought crossed her mind he looked back at her again and asked that she, Kurapika, the green kid and the suit guy go with him.

Quickly the four followed the captain to the room with the steering wheel and the four stood in a line in front of the captain. The suit guy was closest to the door, the green kid, Kurapika and then Phoenix who was next to the window watching the rain pour down and the lightening dance across the sky.

Storms like theses ones have always been her favourite even though they don't have the happiest memories to go along with them. She could feel Kurapika looking at her from the corner of his eyes with concern for he understood her reason for the memories but all she did was look back him in the corner of her eye and smirk at him.

Seeing this Kurapika looked at the captain and became to pay attention again, "First tell me your names!" The captain demanded.

The green kid happily raised his right hand like he was in school and said happily, "I'm Gon!"

 _'What a happy little fella'_ Phoenix though as Kurapika and Leorio then introduced themselves, "I'm Phoenix it's nice to meet you!" Phoenix said in a small but polite voice that made the captain smile at the shy girl reassuringly.

"Why do you want to become Hunters?" The captain the asked. Phoenix could feel Kurapika stiffen next to her and she look at him from the corner of her eye, her eyes telling him that it's okay. Kurapika nodded slightly and relaxed slightly.

Leorio pointed rudely at the captain before exclaiming just as rudely, "Hey! If you're not an examiner, you can't boss us around!"

Phoenix rolled her eyes and thought, _'Rude and loud, he must be popular at parties'_

The captain didn't even bat an eyelash as he replied, "Just answer the question"

Gon was the one who answered before Leorio could make another rude remark, "My dad's a Hunter. I left Whale Island because I want to know why my dad desired so much to be a hunter" The captain looked like he just confirmed a theory about Gon.

Phoenix looked past Kurapika and at Gon curiously. _'Most people would hate their parents if they abandoned them but not Gon. I can see what Kurapika sees now, he doesn't look at things the way normal people do, just like me. Interesting'_

"Hey, kid!" Leorio interrupting Phoenix's thoughts, making Gon turning to him, "You're not supposed to answer his question!"

Before Gon could protest Phoenix cut in with her gentle voice, "That's fine that you don't want to answer him Leorio-san but that doesn't mean that Gon is going to do what you want him to" Phoenix spoke calmly with some sass in her tone, but continued before he could argue with her and Kurapika could scold her, "The reason I want to become a Hunter so I can help Kurapika complete his goal and to discover unexplored lands and travel the world" Phoenix finished with an excited smile.

"That sounds like a lot of fun Phoenix-san!" Gon shouted with enthusiasm with big sparkly brown eyes.

Phoenix smiled sweetly at him, "Thank you, but please just Phoenix is fine" She said softly making Gon nod happily.

Leorio grumbled the two of us not being team players earning himself a look from Kurapika. Phoenix smile secretly to herself at Kurapika's overprotective big brother behaviour he had when it came to her. It never fail to make her feel special that someone care so much for her.

"I don't wish to reveal why I'm here" Leorio said obnoxiously while poking Gon's forehead, not even noticing the look he had gotten from Kurapika even though everyone else in the room noticed it, even Gon.

"I agree with Leorio" Kurapika spoke up for the first time since introducing himself. Phoenix noticed straight away the rude way Kurapika addressed Leorio and smirk amused at his ways of letting Leorio know that he wasn't his biggest fan at the moment.

"What?" Leorio said dumbstruck as he looked over up to Kurapika, before noticing the disrespectful he was addressed, "Hey! Aren't you younger then I am? Show some respect!"

Kurapika continued as if he hadn't even heard Leorio which continued to amuse Phoenix since she rarely saw Kurapika acting rude, "It's quite simple to avoid pesky questions by offering a plausible lie"

Leorio seemed to be getting madder every second he was ignored, "Hey! Are you listening to me?" He questions angrily.

"However, it is quite shameful to relay upon deceit. That said, if I were to tell you the truth, I would be exposing my deepest secrets. That is why I cannot provide an answer" During His explanation he brought his right hand up to clutch his heart.

Gon was looking at Kurapika curiously while phoenix looked back out the window knowing exactly what Kurapika was talking about and didn't want Kurapika to see the sadness that she knew was in her eyes. Kurapika knowing this felt grateful to her for knowing he didn't need anyone's pity.

"Hey, you… Don't ignore me!" Leorio continued to shout at the blonde.

"In other words, you refuse to answer my question" The captain interrupted Leorio before he could continue his yelling at the blonde. "Hey, Katsuo" The captain addressed the sailor with a clipboard that Phoenix just noticed.

"Aye, captain" Katsuo answered.

"Tell the examination board that we have two more dropouts" The captain said seriously making Kurapika and Leorio look at the captain in shock and Phoenix and Gon in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Leorio asked unsure.

"You still haven't figured it out? The Hunter Examination has already begun!" The captain explained.

"What?" The two older teens asked in shock.

"There are as many Hunter wannabes as there are stars in the sky. The examiners don't have the time or resources to review them all. So they hire people like me to trim the fat. I've already notified the board that everyone else on this ship had to withdraw" Leorio made an annoyed noise and Kurapika one of realization, "If they can't handle a little storm, they'd stand no chance in the Hunter Examination's later stages. In other words, you can only proceed to the main exam if I pass you. So think carefully before you answer my question" He finished, giving them one more chance.

Gon turned to Leorio and said innocently, "So he says" making Phoenix giggle into her hand and the tension to somewhat disappear.

There was a suffocating moment of silence before Kurapika took a deep breath before speaking in a calm voice, "I am the last survivor of the Kurta Clan" This gained the attention of everyone in the room and Phoenix stepped closer to Kurapika in hopes of giving him some comfort even a little and it seemed to have work because sent her a grateful smile. "Four years ago, my clan was annihilated by a band of criminals. I wish to become a hunter and hunt down that band, the Phantom Troup"

The captain started at Kurapika blankly for a second, "So you want to be a bounty hunter? The Phantom Troupe is an A-class bounty. Not even the most grizzled Hunters can touch them. You'd be throwing your life away!" The Captain warned.

Kurapika closed his eyes, "I don't fear death. I fear only that my rage will fade over time" Once Kurapika finished Phoenix noticed the red tint in his eyes and placed a hand on his arm to calm him a little. She smiled a little when he subconsciously relaxed a little.

"So, in other words you want revenge" Leorio stated in a snobby voice, "Does that require that you become a hunter?"

"That may be the stupidest question I've ever heard, Leorio" Kurapika answered with a bit of sass in his tone which make Phoenix hid her giggles in her hand again.

"That's Leorio-san to you! And quit laughing brat!" The older teen yelled at the two making Kurapika mad for the brat comment aimed at Phoenix.

"Places accessible only to Hunters" Kurapika continued ignoring the interruption with a hint of anger in his voice, "Information otherwise unobtainable… Actions otherwise impossible" At this point Leorio was about to blow a fuss from being ignored and phoenix letting go of Kurapika's arm feeling the tension rising. "There are more reasons than your brain could possibly handle"

"Hey" Gon cut in stopping Leorio from yelling before he started, "Why do you want to become a Hunter Leorio-san?" He asked.

"Me?" Leorio answered now calm, "I'll make it simple. I want money" He said content, not noticing the two teens who he had a problem with exchange an eye roll, "Money can get you everything! A big house! A nice car! Good liquor!"

"You can't buy class with money, Leorio" Kurapika interjected while Phoenix bit the inside of her cheek to hold in her laughter knowing it wouldn't help the situation.

Leorio's face got red from the anger that was surely surging through him, turning his head slightly so he could look at the blonde through the corner of his eye he said simply, "That's three times now" Before straightening up. "Step outside, I'll end the filthy Kurta bloodline, here and now"

Once he said that Kurapika's face became dark and Phoenix's eyes widened as she looked at Kurapika for his next move, knowing that this was his fight and she shouldn't get involved.

"Take that back, Leorio!" The angry blonde shouted at the taller male. The taller male stopped in the doorway after he opened it and looked over his shoulder at the boy, "Take it back!" Kurapika demanded with a deadly tone.

All Leorio said was, "That's Leorio-san to you" Before leaving the room with Kurapika following shortly after and Phoenix going to follow but stopped halfway unsure if she should stop him not.

"Hey, boys!" The captain called, "I'm not finished yet!"

"Just let them go" Gon spoke up calmly, laying a hand on Phoenix's shoulder in hopes of calming her inner turmoil, "Mito-san once told me _'if you want to get to know someone, you need to make an effort to learn why their angry'_ It's important for them to understand why they're mad. So we should let them settle it themselves"

Once he was finished Phoenix relaxed and sent Gon a thankful smile while everyone in the room just let Gon's works sink in.

The silence was only broken when the sailor driving called the captains attention, "L-look" He stuttered.

We all looked out and saw a waterspout close to the ship.

"If we get caught by that waterspout, the ship with sink" Katsuo pointed out.

The captain began barking out orders to take the sail down and all hands on deck as he took the wheel. Gon said he'd help and Phoenix piped out that she'd help as well. The crew in the room were thankful that the two were willing to help and all of them but the captain ran onto the deck trying to lower the sails.

They noticed Kurapika and Leorio on the other side of the side about to face off but they ignored them for the time being. They were putting their all into pulling the ropes until an extremely strong wind blew everyone to the floor only Katsuo was able to hold on but because the wind was so strong he was being whipped around before he accidently let go and was thrown overboard.

Katsuo flew between Kurapika and Leorio before he fell overboard. The two made a run for it and jumped overboard and grabbed the railings to keep from landing in the water but only just missed his hands.

Before Katsuo could hit the water a green blue and a black blur jumped past them, it took the two holding onto the railing half a second to realize it was Gon and Phoenix. The two each grabbed one of Katsuo's wrist each before they began falling down but they felt a hand on one of their ankles each.

The two fell toward the side of ship and hit it with from Katsuo's chest down in the water. Putting their arms around Katsuo's chest the two looked over their shoulders and saw that Kurapika was holding Phoenix's left ankle and Leorio had Gon's right ankle.

Looking to her left she gave Gon a bright smile who returned it before the two holding them and the crew helped them back on board.

The storm quickly calmed down after that and Gon was sitting against the railing and phoenix was in a tight hug from a worried Kurapika while Leorio stood with his hands in his pockets.

When Phoenix and Kurapika let go of each other Phoenix sat next to Gon with her knees together, her shins pointing outward and her hands on her knees and he head bowed down knowing that the two older teens were going to scold the two of them.

It started with Leorio's shouting, "You two idiots! If we hadn't grabbed your legs, you'd both be shark bait right now!"

Kurapika took that moment to join in to, "Honestly, how reckless are you two"

"But you did catch us!" Gon said making all of them look at him in surprise, "You both caught us"

"Well, I guess so…" Leorio trailed off.

"Gon, Phoenix" The four heard and turn to Katsuo running towards them, and bowed to the two young teens and Gon stood up and Phoenix looked up at him, "Thank you Gon, Phoenix. You two saved my life"

"We couldn't have done it alone. These two helped us save you" Gon said looking at the older two.

The two looked at Gon a little shocked he had given them credit while Phoenix smiled and stood up moving forward to stand next to Gon.

"Thank you very much!" Katsuo thanked the two and bowed.

Kurapika being humble looked away, "No, you don't need to thank me" He said modestly making Phoenix giggled at him and a slight smile form on his face even if he didn't look at her.

Leorio looked surprised before waving his thanks away a little with a slight blush dusting his cheeks, "Yeah, I'm glad you're okay"

Katsuo announced that he was going back to his station as Kurapika watched Leorio with curious expression, before changing it to a contempt but smiled and looked away when Leorio looked up and noticed him staring.

Leorio looked a little embarrassed and ready for a smartass comment from the blonde, "What?" He grumbled.

"I apologize for my rude behaviour. Sorry Leorio-san" The blonde apologized sincere innocence.

Leorio only looked embarrassed now, "W-what's with the sudden change? We sound like strangers… Just call me Leorio... Leorio works" He said blushing again, "I'm also sorry" He added surprising the blonde, "I take back everything I said. I was wrong" He admitted.

"No, it's okay" Kurapika forgave as Phoenix came and stood next to him and smiled at the two.

Before anyone could say anything else the Captain's laughter cut through the air, the group turned and saw the captain leaning against the doorway. "I like you guys! Okay, I'll take responsibility for bringing you four to the closest to the exam site" He announced.

"Really?" Gon and I asked in excitement. "What about your tests?" Gon added.

The captain stopped and looked back at us sternly, "Like I said… It's my deciding to make. And all four of you pass!" He said happily before walking up the stairs.

Leorio gave a big grin, Kurapika smiled relieved, Gon jumped into the air yelling 'yay' and Phoenix grinned happily and looked at Kurapika who had put a brotherly arm around her shoulders and shared a smile with her.

The four of them were going to become hunters together, she just knew it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Phoenix**

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Gon, Phoenix, Kurapika and Leorio arrived at the port in Dolle Harbor. The port was busy and was full of people going to the hunter exam. As soon as Phoenix saw the amount of people who were loitering around she quickly pulled her scarf around her head and hid her face slightly.

Kurapika noticed immediately that Phoenix was hiding herself and stepped closer her. He smiled slightly when she wrapped her arms around his arm and stayed closer to him.

Leorio who was walking to a map in front of the two, turned back to ask something but stopped when he noticed the way Phoenix was holding onto Kurapika like her life depended on it and smirk slyly and turned around before either could see him looking.

Gon who wasn't with them at the moment was thanking the captain came running up to them at the map. He explained that the captain said that they should go to the big cedar tree on the hill, that it was a shortcut.

Leorio of course was doubtful, "Huh, that's strange"

They all looked at him, "Why?" Gon and Phoenix asked.

"According to the notice I received, the exam is supposedly being held somewhere in Zaban City" The oldest teen explained before pointed to the map, "Right now, we're here. That tree is in the opposite direction"

Kurapika looked down at Gon, "Perhaps you misheard him?" The blonde asked as Phoenix let go of him arms but didn't step away even though there was less people now.

"No, he told me to head toward the cedar tree" Gon answered.

Kurapika held his chin, a habit of his when he was figuring something out, "I see" he mumbled.

"And this notice isn't any help" Leorio grumbled as he looked at his notice with annoyance, "Where, exactly, in Zaban City are we meant to go?"

"Our task is to find the exam site, using a limited amount of information" The blond of the group explained, "Just another test before we're allowed to take the Hunter exam"

"I-I knew that" Leorio stuttered out, "I already knew that!"

"Anyway, I'll go have a look. The captain must have a reason to suggest that" Gon announced.

Phoenix nodded in agreement with Gon and piped up for the first time since arriving at the port, "I agree with Gon on this once. The captain wouldn't lead us astray since he likes us" She said softly but the boys heard her thankfully.

Gon smiled brightly at her for her support, Kurapika looked thoughtful and Leorio looked a little annoyed that they wouldn't be taking the bus like him.

Gon started to walk away and Phoenix joined him when he walked past her knowing that Kurapika would come along with them because not only does Gon interested him but also because he wouldn't let Phoenix go alone even if she was with Gon.

"Hey, hey" Leorio spoke behind them, "You're serious? The bus to Zaban is about to leave! We should take it. Hey!" He shouted out when the two young teens ignored him and continued walking.

Kurapika caught up to them quickly after telling Leorio that he'd be going with the two young teens because he found Gon more interesting than the captain's advice and that Phoenix was his responsibility.

Phoenix and Gon grinned at Kurapika when he caught up to them and they continued their journey to the cedar tree in a calm silence, which didn't last long when Leorio came running after them yelling for them to wait. Phoenix was the only one who slowed down for him but didn't stop.

Once Leorio caught up he smiled at Phoenix for slowing down for him and fell into step with her.

"Well, I knew you guys would be lonely without me. And it's no fun traveling alone" Leorio said as an excuse for chasing after them.

Kurapika smirked at him over his shoulder and Gon grinned at him, Phoenix just giggled into her hand.

The group fell into peaceful silence when Leorio stopped making excuses for himself. Phoenix couldn't stop looking back and after the fifth time it happened Leorio looked at her questionably. All she did was shake her head at him and try to ignore the person following them. She doubted that they were going to hurt them at the moment so she wouldn't do anything just yet.

She could tell that Gon and Kurapika noticed his presents as well but Leorio hadn't.

The walked for a while before coming to what seemed to be a ghost town.

"This is a creepy place" Leorio pointed out, "I don't see a single person"

"No, there are plenty here" Gon injected.

"What?" Leorio asked on edge expecting them to just jump out on them as the four came to a stop.

To the side a door opened and a group of people came out dressed all in white with weird mask and weirder hair. They were wheeling out a stage thing.

The four teens stared a little confused and with theirs guards up as a women with two big front teeth sat in front of them.

"Wh-what's with the freak show?" Leorio asked his friends quietly but they couldn't answer him.

"Exciting" The old lady said quietly with Leorio repeating her, "Exciting two-choice quiz!" She screamed out making all four jump and stare in shock while the old lady's friends played the instruments they were holding.

"You boys and girl are heading to that tree on the hill right?" She asked the still shocked teens, "To reach that tree, you must pass through this town. I shall administer a single question quiz"

"H-hold on" Leorio stuttered. _'He's stuttering a lot today'_ Phoenix thought to herself distracted, "What's going on here?"

"You'll have five seconds to state your answer. Give a wrong answer, and you're disqualified. You'll have to give up on taking this year's hunter exam" The old lady explained.

"I see" Kurapika said, "Then this is part of the Hunter Exam"

"I see how it is" Leorio spoke up, "I happen to be a quiz expert"

"There must be a catch though" Phoenix said under her breathe but Gon heard her and looked at her curiously.

"Wait! Only on question" Leorio asked surprised.

"Your answer will be either the number 1 or 2" The old lady explained, "Any other answer will considered incorrect"

Phoenix nodded, "And there's the catch" She mumbled to Gon who nodded in agreement.

"Hold on, all four of us share one question? So if one of them answers incorrectly, I'm disqualified too?" Leorio asked. Even though it was a good question Phoenix couldn't help but be offered by the way he worded it, she could tell Kurapika felt the same.

"As if that would happened" Kurapika said agitated, crossing him arms, "What scares me is the high likelihood of the vice versa happening!" He finished with Gon smiling nervously in the background with Phoenix next to him.

"What was that?" Leorio asked annoyed.

Gon threw his arms up suddenly making Phoenix jump, "But you know, this ways easier, since only one of us needs to know the answer" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he continued, "I'm not good at quizzes"

Both Kurapika and Leorio agreed reluctantly with Phoenix high fiving Gon for stopping the fight.

"Hey there, hurry up" Someone spoke up from behind the group. The four turned around to see a narrow eyed guy dressed in what looked like a white karate outfit with a pair of swords on his back. Phoenix narrowed her eyes at the man but didn't say anything. She was sure that this was the person following them up here since the port. "Or else I'll answer the question first"

"Who are you?" Leorio asked rudely.

"He followed us here, all the way from the port" Gon answered for the man, unknowingly confirming Phoenix's suspicion.

"Huh, seriously?" Leorio asked rhetorically.

"Sorry kid, I happened to overhear your conversation. What will you do?" He asked them.

"Let him take it first" Phoenix spoke up before anyone else could, "That way, we'll know what kind of question to expect"

Kurapika nodded in agreement as well as Gon so Leorio shrugged and picked up his suitcase and moved to the back with the other three. The white robed people brought out a podium for the man answering first.

"Then I'll get to it" He said to us before throwing a sly look at them over his shoulder that Kurapika and Phoenix were the only ones to notice and tensed up a little incase he attacked them.

"Here is your question" The old lady began, "Evil villains have captured your mother and lover. You can only save one. Select 1 for your mother, or 2 for your lover. Which will you save?" The old lady questioned.

The four young teens started at the question, shocked that is was so brutal.

"H-how is this even a quiz?" Leorio asked annoyed.

The man in white only smirked and pressed the button on the podium "The answer is 1" He said cockily. When the old lady hummed for an explanation he continued, "Because you can't replace your mother, but you can find another lover"

Phoenix looked at him disgusted that he would just throw someone's life away like that, while Leorio was just pissed at the moron for saying something like that.

The old lady point her thumb over her shoulder, "You may pass" She said simply surprising the four teens.

"You just have to tell the old lady what she wants to hear" The guy in white said over his shoulder before saying his goodbyes and leaving.

"Hey now! That's all bull!" Leorio shouted at the old lady once the guy in white was gone, "How was that the right answer? We're supposed to give the answer the old lady wants? And that's considered correct? Hey, say something" Leorio ranted.

Kurapika just watched him calmly, Gon crossed his arms in thought and looked at the ground. Phoenix put her hands behind her back and looked into the sky with her brows furrowed.

"I won't put up with this sham, I'll find a different route" Leorio continued, turning around to leave.

"It's too late" The old lady stopped him, "Refuse to take the quiz, and you're disqualified"

Leorio was shaking with anger before throwing his arm out, "That's just ridiculous! Different people would expect different answers, there is no right answer!"

Once he said that Kurapika looked up in realization, "No right answer? I see" he mumbled to himself, he looked at Leorio ready to tell him but the old lady stopped him telling them all that anything but the answer means immediate disqualification.

Kurapika let out a breath before looking back at Leorio hoping he'd get it before looking at Gon and then Phoenix who was looking at him trying to figure it out. Kurapika locked eyes with her trying to get the message across with his eyes knowing that she could read his like a book and after a few seconds her eyes widened a little and she nodded before smiling at him and turning to the old lady again.

The old lady noticed that the young girl understood the answer, "Here is your question… Your son and daughter have been kidnapped, you can only rescues one. Select 1 for your son, or 2 for your daughter. Which will you rescue?" She asked making Leorio pissed.

Phoenix watched as Leorio went over to the side and picked up a wooden plank while the old lady was counting down in the background. _'He better not be doing what I think he's doing'_ She thought to herself as he started to swing it downwards a couple of times.

The old lady called a timeout and at that moment Leorio jumped up and went to attack her with the wooden plank.

Before he could hit her Phoenix was in front of him with one hand on the wooden plank and Kurapika had his wooden swords stopping the plank as well as he stood behind her and his wooden swords in from of her to stop most of the blow.

"Don't stop me you two! I won't be satisfied until I've taught this hag a lesson!" He shouted at the two as he pushed forward but didn't get too far with the both of them pushing against him.

As one Kurapika and Phoenix pushed Leorio back as Kurapika shouted back at him, "Calm down Leorio!"

"How am I supposed to calm down?" Leorio continued to shout.

Before Kurapika could shout back and Phoenix put her hand between each of their faces, "Stop yelling you two it's hurting my ears and beside Leorio you'll waste our correct answer!" Phoenix said calmly while rubbing her left ear.

Kurapika and Leorio stepped away mumbling a small apologize before her words process in Leorio's mind, "Correct answer?" He asked now calm.

"We gave the right answer" Kurapika answered putting his wooden swords away, "Silence was the correct response"

"Silence? What do you mean?" Leorio asked.

"You hit the nail on the head _'There is no right answer'_ " Phoenix started.

"Precisely. This quiz had no right answer. However we could only state 1 or 2 as the answer. In other words, we weren't meant to respond at all. Silence was the only answer" The blonde finished.

"But what about that other guy?" Leorio asked dumbly.

"They never said he gave the right answer. She only said _'You may pass'_ " Phoenix supplied.

Kurapika nodded before turning to the old lady, "In other words, this path is the wrong path. Are we right?" Kurapika asked.

The old lady smiled before standing up, "Precisely" She made her way to door that she and the white robed people came out of, "The correct path is over here" A pair of white robed people opened the door for the old lady, "This leads directly to the tree, walk two hours and you'll reach the top"

"Oh, so that's what this was about" Leorio commented.

"A couple lives in the cabin beneath the tree, they sever as Navigators. If you meet their standards, I believe that they will guide you to the exam site" The old lady explained to them.

Leorio dropped his stick before bowing to the old lady, "Gran I'm sorry for my rudeness" He apologized.

The old lady looked away, "Don't be, I don't mind. I do this job because I enjoy meeting people like you. Do your best to become a good hunter" She smiled up at him making him smile back.

Gon suddenly let out a loud exhale startling the group as they turned to see him sitting down, "It's no use. I can't think of an answer" He said.

There was a moment of silence before phoenix, Kurapika and Leorio started to chuckle, "You were still trying to find an answer?" Leorio asked, "You can stop"

"Huh? Why?" Gon asked surprised.

"The quiz is over" The blonde answered.

"I know" Gon counted, "But… but you know, what if I run into a situation like that and I can only save one person… What should I do?" He asked his friends catching them by surprise, "It wouldn't be right to choose just one. But one day, I might have to make that choice"

No one said anything before Phoenix walked up to Gon and held a hand out for him to take which he did before he pulled him up off the ground, "If your ever in that situation then we'll be right next to you so we can save both of them" She said smiling sweetly.

Leorio and Kurapika nodded from behind her letting Gon know that they agree with her and they'd be there.

Gon grinned at her gratefully before putting an arm around her shoulder and giving her a peace sign as the four of them began to walk down the tunnel together to the next test they would need to take before the hunter exam.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

The four Hunter wannabes finally made it out of the dark tunnel they had to travel through to make it to the navigators under the Lone Cedar Tree on the hill. Of course the only one who was complaining was Leorio; who was behind the other three as they walked in a comfortable silence.

"It's totally dark out… 'Walk two hours' she said? It was two hours, two hours ago! Damn" The glass wearing teen paused at he read another magical beast warning sign, "Another _'Beware of Magical Beast'_ sign? He asked, "Are we ever gonna make it to the exam site?"

Phoenix sighed a little annoyed at the older teen, "Is he ever going to stop complaining?" The brunette mumbled to herself but Gon and Kurapika heard and nodded their agreement with her.

The three turned around to see Leorio who was waving his arms around like a headless chicken, "I'm hungry! I need to take a dump!" He shouted at the three in front of him not noticing the blonde's eye roll, the green clad teen's slight grimace and Phoenix completely blank expression.

"Leorio" Gon called out trying to be heard of the older teen's ramblings, "We'll leave you behind" He spoke loudly as Kurapika guided Phoenix away with him as he turned to continue on.

As he turned around his face lit up and soon Phoenix's followed suit at seeing what he saw, "I see it" The two announced in unison.

It didn't take the four of them long to get to the Cedar after that. Once they arrived they noticed they were the only ones who were at the couple's cabin under the tree. Phoenix looked out of the corner of her eye at what seemed to be the shadow of an animal. She locked eyes with it for a second before it run back into the forest that surrounded them, making her eyes narrow slightly.

Making their way up to the cabin Leorio was the one who knocked on the door as Phoenix had her back to the door as she observed the forest carefully, she had the feeling that she was being watched and she didn't like it one bit.

She looked over her shoulder at the three boys behind her, she was the only one who could feel it she noted dully before turning back to the forest catching a shadow move just past the trees, _'It's playing mind games with me'_ Phoenix thought calmly as she locked eyes with the creature from before.

A pair of red eyes stared back at her toxic green orbs with slight amusement, Phoenix only raised her eyebrow challenging the creature. She noted that the amusement increased at her challenge but it stayed in the shadows watching her.

The thing that broke her eye contact with the red eyed creature that's eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, was the sound of a door opening behind her making her turn around but not before she narrowed her eyes at the creature, to see the three males about to walk into the cabin.

The female was quick to follow her friends into the cabin but was stopped short as were the others at the scene before them.

Shattered glass scattered across the floor leading to an injured man lying on the floor in pain as a big yellow furred creature stood above him. It had a women who looked like she might pass out from fear in his arms. Its eyes seemed to glow in the darkness made Phoenix narrow her eyes and look over her shoulder once more back into the forest but she didn't see anything putting her on edge.

"It's a magical beast!" Leorio announced shocked.

"Magical beast?" Gon asked ready to attack with his fishing rod in front of him.

Kurapika also had his wooden swords out in front of him just as ready to attack as Phoenix looked ready to defend her friends if needed, "A transforming magical beast, a Kiriko!" The blonde quickly explained to Gon and Leorio knowing that Phoenix knew about the creature, "They can take human form! That's an extremely intelligent creature!" He finished as the Kiriko faced them fully showing the women that only Phoenix noticed before.

"There's a women in his arms!" Gon exclaimed.

"And the guy on the floor need medical attention" Leorio added.

Just as Leorio finished speaking the Kiriko turned around and jumped out of the window on the other side of the room, taking the women with him. Kurapika and Gon ran to the window as Phoenix and Leorio ran to the man on the floor.

"P-Please! Please save my wife…!" Pleaded the man on the floor as Phoenix put a calming hand on his shoulder narrowing her eyes slightly so it wouldn't be noticeable and Leorio opened his suitcase that was filled with medical supplies.

Kurapika took his shoulder bag off before tossing it to Phoenix knowing that'd she'll stay with Leorio and the injured man, "Leorio, we'll leave the injured man to you! Phoenix protect them" He ordered as he jumped out the window following after Gon, his only replied from the two was, 'Got it!' before he was out of ear shot.

Leorio quickly got to work fixing the man up with Phoenix helping when she could but she mainly held the man's shoulders down with more force then was necessary. The toxic green eyed teen ignored how Leorio continued to reassure the man that his wife was going to be fine.

Once he was finished he stood up before he asked Phoenix to help him get the man onto the bed in the next room.

When the man was comfortable and Leorio was satisfied that none of his wounds had reopened he turned to Phoenix who stood a few feet behind him staring at the man intently, almost like she was trying to figure something out but he ignored it, "Thanks for your help kiddo" He said as he ruffled her hair slightly making her pout at him, "Could you keep an eye on him for a bit while I go and get my case and clean the glass up out there?" He asked.

Phoenix smiled up at Leorio gently and nodded her head, "Let me know if you need anything, Leorio" The young girl spoke softly.

Leorio said he would as he walked out closing the door so not to disturb the injured man in bed while he was cleaning.

As soon at the door shut Phoenix turned back to the man in the bed who looked back at her with red eyes, similar colour to the shadow she saw earlier and the Kiriko just before.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I know you're not human mister" She said in a soft voice so Leorio wouldn't hear her.

The man looked at her surprised, "What are you talking about?" He asked.

Phoenix sighed as she walked over to the bed making the man a little nervous but all she did was sit at the end of the bed before crossing her legs and putting her hands on her lap, "You're a Kiriko" She said simply.

The man's eyes widened before he chuckled softly and sitting up, leaning his back against the headboard, showing no pain at moving his 'injuries'. "Tell me, how did you know?" He asked the young girl who looked at him with big innocent eyes.

The brunette took a moment think about her words before turned back to the curious man, "The thing that convinced me was when I first touched her shoulders, you weren't shaking or tense; in fact you were pretty relaxed. Before we came in I had the feeling of being watched before I noticed a shadow, it had glowing red eyes just like the Kiriko that stole your 'wife'" She explained using her fingers to make speech marks as she said wife, "You have very similar eyes to the Kiriko's but they aren't glowing. You also don't feel human" She finished with a sigh.

The man in front her was very impressed, not only did she pick up on his body language, his resemblance to the Kiriko's in their true form but she was able to sense things no normal person would be about to.

The man smiled warming at the young brunette, "I must admit you've impressed me quite a bit, but now that you know what are you going to do about it?" He finished with a serious expression.

Phoenix only looked at the ceiling as she sighed, "I'm not going to do anything, you're not going to hurt us or you would have already" She said softly before looking the man again, "If my guess is correct this is all a test isn't it? To see if were worthy of taking the hunter exam?" She asked curiously.

The man now known as a Kiriko smiled again as he nodded, "You are indeed correct" He paused for a moment looking outside before turning back to Phoenix, "It seems your friends are back" He said as Leorio came back inside the room to tell them the others are back.

Phoenix nodded as she stood up and watched as the Kiriko in man form stood up with ease as well making Leorio stutter as Phoenix grab his hand and guided him out of the room and then the house to see two Kiriko's in their true forms and the women from earlier standing in front a curious Gon and a relieved Kurapika who smiled as Phoenix went and stood next to him looking up at him with an innocent smile on her lips after handing him his bag.

The Kiriko in man form went and stood with his family before one of the Kiriko's in true form began, "Hmm… How many years has it been since someone was about to tell us apart?" It asked to the other true form Kiriko.

"I'm ecstatic" It answer joyfully.

Leorio leaned down a bit to Kurapika and Phoenix who both looked a little put out, "Can you tell their faces and voices are different?" He asked the two.

Kurapika looked at Leorio before answering, "No, not at all…" While Phoenix looked at Leorio a little confused as she shook her head.

Gon turned to them having heard them, "You see, the one Kurapika and I beat us is the husband"

"Which one are you talking about?" The two asked sweat dropping as Phoenix smiled nervously.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves" One of the true form Kiriko spoke up as it moved to stand behind its children with its partner, "We are the navigators. Our family provides support for the Hunter Exam"

"I'm their daughter" The woman form Kiriko said kindly as she waved with a closed eye smile.

"I'm their son" The man form Kiriko spoke up next with a wave and closed eye smile as well.

"Man, you had us fooled" Leorio shrugged his arms as Phoenix shared a secret smile with the man form Kiriko.

"The hunter exam changes sites every year, it's quite difficult to locate it" One true form Kiriko explained before the other took over.

"So we navigators help by guiding the applicants to the site" It said.

"Oh, that's how it works" Gon spoke amazed.

"But we don't help every candidate" The daughter added in.

"We test applicants to see it they're qualified to take the exam" The son put in. As he spoke Leorio straighten up as Phoenix looked a little amused by his actions.

"Kurapika-dono" The daughter began making Kurapika pay close attention, "You successfully used the most vague of hints to determine that we weren't spouses" She explained as she began to rub off some tattoos on her arm, "The hint was these tattoos which, in this region, mark a woman as single for life. Kurapika-dono demonstrated that he is very knowledgeable. Therefore he passes" She announced.

Kurapika looked like world was lifted off his shoulders as he sighed with relief. Phoenix smiled sweetly as she wrapped her arms around his waist giving him a hug to show how proud she is of him as he in turn wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he fist bumped Gon who congratulation him along with Leorio.

"Leorio-dono" The son spoke getting the attention of the group again, "You never realized my true identity" He spoke calmly while Leorio was silently freaking out, "However, you addressed my wounds faster and thoroughly than any doctor. Most importantly you continued to reassure me that my wife was safe. Your kindness makes you worthy of taking the hunter exam. Thus you pass"

"R-Really?" Leorio asked before sagging to the ground in relief. He gave Gon fist bump and returned Phoenix's and Kurapika's smiles.

"Phoenix-dono" The son began again gaining the teens attention, "You were about to realize my true identity through my body language and the slightest of resemblance my eyes had with my parents in this form. You were also sense that not only was I not human but that something was watching you all since before you went into the cabin. You're skills of advance observation make you worthy of taking the hunter exam. Therefor you pass also" He finished with a smile.

Phoenix smiled widely as Kurapika wrapped his arm around her shoulders in relief that she's still be with him through the hunter exam. She gave Gon a high five instead on fist bump as Leorio reached over and ruffled her hair.

"And finally, Gon-dono" One of the true form Kiriko's started up once again, "Your superhuman physical ability and powers of observation make you worthy to take the hunter exam. You pass" The true form Kiriko said proudly.

Gon smiled widely as he fist bumped Leorio and Kurapika at the same time before high fiving Phoenix again who smiled sweetly at him.

The son and daughter Kiriko transformed into their true forms before the two picked up Leorio who was still on the floor, they each held one of his arms. One of the parents, the wife Phoenix thought, flew above Kurapika and let him hold onto her ankles. The husband bent down and motioned for Phoenix to climb on which she did with a little more enthusiasm then she should have making Gon and the Kiriko chuckle at the eager girl before the Kiriko flew into the air stopping to let Gon grab his ankles.

"Isn't it great that we all passed" Gon asked excited to the other teens as they flew through the night.

Phoenix looked down at Gon from over the Kiriko's shoulder and smiled brightly down at him, "It is. I'm glad we all passed together" In a louder voice to be heard over the wind.

"It's too early to celebrate. We've merely earned the right to take the real exam" Kurapika pointed out making Phoenix nod in thought.

"What's wrong with celebrating a little? We're making progress" Leorio piped up.

"Honestly, you people really should think" Kurapika breathed.

Phoenix giggled, "I doubt Leorio does think too often" Phoenix called out making Gon laugh.

Kurapika looked like he wasn't sure whether to laugh or scold her for being rude so he chose to smirk instead.

"Hey! Why must you two be such smart-asses?" Leorio shouted at the two kicking his legs out and sending the Kiriko's off balance.

"Stop moving around!" The both shouted down at Leorio, "If you fall, blame yourself" They continued to shout making Phoenix giggle into her hand and Gon to laugh openly.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, hope your enjoying my story because there's more to come.**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow and review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter but I do own Phoenix**

* * *

The group of four and the Kiriko's finally made it to Zaban city after flying through the night. The son Kiriko had transformed back into his man form and was guiding the four hunter wannabes to the exam site.

"As Navigators, our job is to identify worthy Hunter applicants" The man form Kiriko began to explain while Gon was looking around at all the stalls they were passing, "And guild them to the exam site. In other words, it would be extremely difficult for someone to reach the site without the navigators help"

As the navigator was talking Gon wandered off to the side to get a closer look at some of the merchandise the stall owners sold, Phoenix following close behind him so he didn't get into trouble. The first stall the two went up to was one that was selling panda frogs on a stick.

"Hey, wanna try one?" The stall owner asked the two young teens, "Its Zaban's famous panda-frog-on-a-stick! A true delicacy" Gon looked like he was going to take it before Phoenix pulled his arm and lead him away from the stall.

After a few boring stalls they came across one where a young women was selling antiques. She held out a golden brooch that had purple jewels on the middle, "This brooch was excavated from Zaban's underground palace. I bet it's a national treasure" She said convincingly to the two young Hunter wannabes.

Gon and Phoenix leaned in slightly to get a better look before smiling and moving on to the next stall. Gon was zipping from stall to stall so fast that Phoenix had to hold onto his hand so she didn't lose him.

After a while the two heard Leorio shouting back at them, "What are you two going?" He asked, "We're going"

Phoenix nodded and pulled Gon along since he wasn't paying attention and made her way back to the rest of their group. Once she was with the group again she let go of his hand and stood by Kurapika as the five continued on their way.

It wasn't long before the group of hunter wannabes and their guild arrived in front of an expensive, tall building.

"I believe that is the building" The man form Kiriko spoke up double checking the paper with the address of the hunter exam site.

The four hunter wannabes looked up at the tall building in front of them in surprise. Leorio and Kurapika looked up with slightly wider eyes, Gon was grinning excitedly while Phoenix blinked as the man form Kiriko was moving to the right of the tall expensive building towards a small restaurant.

"It's so tall!" Gon exclaimed, "They have a really nice building!" Phoenix looked at him with a confused look making Gon tilt his head at her, "Is something wrong Phoenix?" He asked curious.

Phoenix shook her head a little, "Nothing, it's just that isn't what most people would say about someone's building" She answered scratching her cheek, a nervous habit she had when she was a child and hadn't grown out of.

Gon only chuckled at her and shrugged his shoulders.

The three males moved forward a little while Phoenix stood where she was watching the man form Kiriko from the corner of her eye, "So this is the exam site…" Leorio trailed off, "This is what draws…"

"Hunter applicants from across the world" Kurapika finished for the oldest teen.

Gon balled his fist at his sides, "My first shot at the Hunter Exam… Was this how my dad felt, when he first arrived?" The brown eyed boy asked rhetorically.

Before anyone else could say anything else the man form Kiriko called out to them, "Hey, guys!" The four turned to him, "Over here!"

The three males looked shocked that the Hunter exam was going to be in the small restaurant and not the big fancy building while the only female had a look of realization, now knowing why the man form Kiriko was standing in front of the small restaurant.

"Here" He said simply as he pointed at the restaurant.

"Wait, this isn't funny!" Leorio stated obnoxiously, "Isn't that an ordinary restaurant?" He asked.

Phoenix nodded slightly, "The perfect cover" She mumbled to herself.

"You can't possibly mean that Hunter applicants from across the world are meant to assemble here?" The glasses wearing teen complained.

"I do" The man form Kiriko answered.

"It makes sense, no one would expect the hunter exam, with its millions of candidates to be located somewhere so ordinary" Phoenix piped up making the other three look thoughtful and the man form Kiriko nod with a smile.

The five quickly entered the restaurant, not a lot of people were inside and it was a little quiet. "Welcome" The chief spoke up not looking up from the food he was cooking.

"Is the back room opened?" The man formed Kiriko asked gaining the chiefs attention imminently.

"What will you have" The chief asked with a slight edge of curiosity.

"The steak combo that opens your eyes to the light" The man formed Kiriko answered as the hunter wannabes behind him watched silently, "For four"

"For four" The chief said slightly sharper, "How would you like them?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

The man formed Kiriko leaned forward slightly and pointed his right index finger towards the ceiling, "Grilled over a low flame, until cooked" The man formed Kiriko ordered.

The chief just went back to the food he was cooking, "Got it. Let yourselves into the back room" He said.

The man formed Kiriko nodded and led the four teens towards the back of the restaurant before opening a door for the four to enter. In the room was a plain wooden table with a moving center piece that had a few salt and pepper shakers. The table had four chairs for the hunter wannabes to sit on.

"Wait here" The man formed Kiriko advised them.

"Wait? Where are the others?" Leorio asked perplexed.

"I can't wait for the steak combo" Gon said happily.

"Gon, that was just the password to get us inside" Kurapika informed the brown eyed boy as he and Phoenix moved to the table to have a seat.

Gon looked a little disappointed, "Oh, we don't get to eat" He asked making Phoenix giggle softly into her hand.

"One in every ten thousand" The man formed Kiriko spoke up at the door gaining the teens attention, "The number of applicants who make it this far. You've done extremely well for first-timers! Well, good luck"

Gon held his hand out for a hand shake while the man formed Kiriko looked surprised, "Thanks!" Gon said gratefully.

The man form Kiriko smiled and shook Gon's hand, "I would be happy to serve as your Navigator next year as well" The man formed Kiriko said happily before leaving the four teens alone to go back home to his family.

There was a few seconds of silence as the Kiriko's words sunk in before the room gave a rumble and began to descend downwards.

"It appears this room is an elevator" Kurapika spoke up.

Leorio joined Gon Kurapika and Phoenix sitting at the table. Gon sat on Phoenix's left and opposite Kurapika who sat on her right and Leorio opposite Phoenix with Kurapika on his left and Gon on his right.

Leorio crossed his arm annoyed, "Bastard" He started gain the other three teens attention, "That meant that he expected us to fail this year"

"Once every three years" Kurapika said quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear, "The frequency with which a rookie passes the exam"

Gon and Leorio leaned forward a little as Phoenix began to swing her legs and tuned the boys out already know what Kurapika was taking about.

' _I wonder if there will be any interesting people at the Hunter Exam. Many a few kids, probably not but maybe'_ the toxic green eyed girl thought to herself.

The girl was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a slam on the table. She jumped and ended up hitting her hands on the table which she had in her lap and looked up a little annoyed.

She found Leorio and Kurapika in each other's faces and Gon looking a little scared.

"GON! What do you think? What kind of Hunter do you want to be?" The two oldest teens yelled at Gon who could only stutter out a few words, nervous of getting the wrong answer.

Not getting an answer out of the brown eyed teen the two turned to the only female and asked a little calmer what she thought but still yelled.

Phoenix only looked on in confusing before sighing and turning to Gon about to ask something but was interrupted by the elevator dinging telling the four hunter wannabes that they had arrived.

"Saved by the bell" Phoenix whispered to Gon who nodded with a nervous chuckle.

The four quickly left the elevator and entered an underground passageway that had pipes lined on the walls either side of them and a wall on the far end of the room. There was hundreds of hunter wannabes in the passageway and just about all of them were glaring at the four who just entered.

"Strange atmosphere down here" Leorio mumbled to his three friends.

"They clearly differ from the hunter applicants we saw at the port and in the city. Each is a master, in their own right" The blonde informed Leorio.

Leorio looked a little nervous as Kurapika tensed up a little as if someone was going to attack them, Gon looked around curiously.

Phoenix looked around bored before sighing and looking up at the ceiling showing them all they she had no interest in them, _'Looks like there's not a single person who's caught my attention so far. How boring'_ she thought to herself.

Gon stepped forward a little, "Excuse me" He spoke loudly trying to get someone's attention but everyone just turned away from the four, "Everyone's really tense" He said to himself more than his friends.

"Hello. Please take a number " Suddenly a green bean like man appeared in front of the four, it was holding out a badge with the number 402 in bold black numbers, none of them moved so Phoenix walked forward a little a took the badge with a sweet smile as a thank you. Once all four had the badge the green bean continued, "Be sure you wear this on your chest at all times. Be careful not to lose it" It said before turning away.

Phoenix pinned her badge on the right side of her chest before seeing what the others numbers were, Leorio had gotten 403, Kurapika 404 and Gon 406.

"Haven't seen you guys around here" A masculine voice called out to them. The four looked up to their left and saw a middle age man with a large stomach and a box nose in a blue outfit with a shoulder bag similar to Kurapika, "Yo" He said friendly before jumping down to them.

Phoenix took a step closer to Kurapika getting a bad vibe from the box nosed man. Kurapika seemed to feel the same as he moved a bit closer to Phoenix as well.

"You can tell we're new?" Gon asked innocently.

"More or less?" Box nose answered, "After all, this will be my thirty-fifth attempt" He said proudly.

Leorio and Gon jumped in surprise, "Thirty-fifth?" The asked together.

"Well, you could call me an exam veteran" He said with the same proud tone.

Leorio and Kurapika shared a look, "That's not something to brag about" Leorio commented quietly to the blonde.

"Indeed" Kurapika agreed just as quiet.

"If you have any questions feel free to ask me" Box nose offered.

Before any of the boys could asked anything Phoenix spoke up "Um, Mr. Box nose," She spoke in a shy tone with a slight blush on her cheeks which Kurapika noticed imminently was fake and had to hid his smirk, while Leorio choked on his laughter trying to swallow it and Gon looked at her with a spark of amusement in his brown eyes. Phoenix noticed Mr. Box Nose's eye twitch slightly at her nickname for him, "What's your name or can I call you Mr. Box Nose?" She asked with her fake shy voice.

Kurapika pursed his lips trying not to laugh, it wasn't every day that Phoenix was purposely rude to someone but when she was she could say the best things. Leorio coughed a little to cover the chuckles that came out and Gon sent her a cheeky smile.

Phoenix smiled sweetly at the man when she heard a few applicants around them trying to cover their chuckles as well.

"My name is Tonpa, please don't call me Mr. Box Nose" Tonpa asked trying not to sound annoyed but when Phoenix's sweet smile turned into a smirk he knew then and there that she was going to continue to call him Mr. Box Nose and made a mental note to get rid of her.

"I'm Gon" Gon said shaking Tonpa's hand before pointing at the three behind him, "This is Leorio, Kurapika and Phoenix" Gon introduced.

The two boys only nodded at him but Phoenix just looked away and started to look around again for anything interesting. She ended up tuning out the boys again not being interested in knowing who was who, she could do that herself if she really wanted to know.

While the toxic eyed girl was looking around she unintentionally locked eyes with a pair of curious sapphire eyes that were staring straight at her. She noticed the eyes belong to a boy Gon's and hers age, he had white fluffy hair. He wore a white shirt over a blue turtle neck and grey shorts that finished just above his knees and purple and white shoes. He also had a badge with the number 99 on it. The sapphire eyed boy was carrying a skateboard.

Phoenix gave the boy a sweet smile which caused the boys cheeks to turn a slight pink colour before he turned away quickly.

' _What an interesting boy. Guess this is going to be fun'_ Phoenix thought to herself before there was a scream.

Looking over there was a bald man with a purple cape kneeing on the group with his arms in the air in front of him but the strange thing was that his arms were turning into small pink flower petals.

"Oh, how peculiar" A sinister voice spoke up. Looking over Phoenix noted that the man with pink and purple hair was speaking and he looked like a mix between a clown, a joker and a magician, "His arms seem to have become flower petals. No smoke and mirrors here" As he was speaking the now armless man fell onto his face, "Do take care. When you bump into someone you really should apologize" He said quietly to the armless man but in the now silent room it was clear as if he had shouted it.

Phoenix watched in interest only half listening to Tonpa as he explained who the clown man was. ' _Hisoka huh? Why does that name sound familiar to me?'_ Phoenix thought to herself not taking her eyes off of the clown.

Hisoka feeling someone staring at him more than everyone else turned his head slightly and looked out the corner of his eyes and his small golden orbs locked onto a pair of toxic green with a ring of yellow around the pupil. His eyes widen a little shocked but not enough to be noticed.

He quickly gained his composure back and gave the little girl with the scarf around her head a slight smirk and waves cheekily at her.

Phoenix's reaction was only a small confused smile and a nod before turning back to Kurapika, not noticing that Hisoka was still watching her.

' _So she's here! How exciting!'_ Hisoka thought before turning away as well.

"Oh right!" Tonpa exclaimed gaining the fours attention again, "A little something to mark our acquaintance. How about it?" He asked after rummaging through his bag and bringing out a few cans of juice.

Phoenix raised a suspicious eyebrow while Leorio smiled happily, "Oh, appreciated" Leorio said happily while the four teens grabbed a can each, "As it happened, I was thirsty"

"Thanks!" Gon said gratefully.

"Thank you" Kurapika said shortly while Phoenix only nodded holding her can at her side, holding the top of it with her fingers.

Out the corner of her eye she noticed a few people watching them with amusement, no more like they were watching Tonpa. A flash of white caught Phoenix's eye as she turned her head slightly and locked eyes with the sapphire eyed boys again. He pointed to her can and slightly shook his head, warning her not to drink it. Phoenix's eyes widened slightly and nodded back her thanks.

Turning back to warn her friends she noticed that Gon had already took a gulp of the drink as had Leorio. She bit her lip in worry but it was quickly changed to shock and confusion as Gon spit his out in a waterfall like effect.

"Tonpa-san, this juice must be expired" Gon said smiling awkwardly at Tonpa, "It taste funny"

Leorio was quick to spit his juice out after that, "Seriously?" He asked angrily, "That was close!"

Tonpa looked surprised but Phoenix noticed it wasn't because the juice had gotten bad but that Gon had noticed it's taste, he was becoming nervous, "H-Huh? That's strange" He stuttered slightly.

From beside her Kurapika was pouring his juice out with his eyes closed a little annoyed, phoenix only continued to hold hers, planning on keeping it in case she'd need it for something.

"I'm very sorry!" Tonpa apologized loudly to the four, bowing down with his hands together, "I didn't realize the juice had gone bad" He said getting onto his knees.

Gon being Gon was quick to forgive him, "It's okay. You don't have to apologize. Is your stomach okay?" Gon asked worried.

"Y-Yes… I'm fine" He stuttered again making Phoenix narrow her eyes slightly.

"I've sampled all kind of mountain grasses and plants" Gon explained making Phoenix raise her eyebrow in question, who just eats grass and plants? "So I can usually taste when something's bad"

"R-Really?" Tonpa asked in disbelief, "That's amazing" Tonpa stood up after a second pause, "Sorry about that again. I'll see you around" He said walking away quickly.

"Talkative old man" Leorio commented after Tonpa was out of hearing range.

Phoenix nodded, "I don't like him" She announced to her friends who looked at her then back at Tonpa.

A while later a ringing noise filled the room and the far wall began to open sliding upward toward the ceiling.

"I apologize for the wait" A man with lavender hair, a mustache, a suit and no mouth spoke loudly above everyone, "The entry period for Hunter applicants has ended. The Hunter Exam will begin now!" As soon as those words were spoken a thick tension filled the room. "As a final caution. If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or even dead. Those who accept the risk, please follow me. Otherwise, please exit via the elevator behind you"

The room was dead quiet waiting for anyone to leave, when no did no-mouth continued, "Very well. All 404 applicants will participate in Phase One" With that he turned around and started to walk, his arms thrown back as he walked and his legs straight.

The applicants were quick to follow him with Phoenix, Gon, Kurapika and Leorio close to the middle.

"Of course, no one turned around and left. I'd hoped a few might withdrew" Leorio spoke to himself.

Everyone was waking for a minute before the people in front of the four started to pick up the pace and started to jog so they copied them and started to jog not wanting to be left behind.

"Wh-what?" Leorio asked confused.

"The people in front started running" Gon answered him.

"He's picking up the pace" Kurapika added.

Phoenix sighed, "This phase is just running for a while isn't it?" She asked rhetorically.

The boys al shrugged not sure of the answer but it was answered when the no-mouth man spoke from in front of everyone, "I neglected to introduce myself. I am Satotz, the Phase One examiner. I shall lead you to the exam's Second Phase"

There was confusion in the crowd as the bald ninja called out, "Phase Two? What about Phase One?" He asked.

"It has already commenced" Satotz-san announce making the crowd even more confused, "You must follow me to Phase Two. This is the exam's First Phase" The examiner finished.

There was a few more questions before everyone just focused on their running. Phoenix sighed and threw her head back and groaned as she ran, "Why did it have to be running?" She asked to the heavens.

Kurapika chucked and patted her head since he couldn't ruffle it since she still had her scarf wrapped around her head, "It's okay Nix, we shouldn't be running for too long" He encouraged her making sure to use her nickname.

Phoenix stuttered slightly haven't heard her nickname for a few days before smiling sweetly at Kurapika with a slightly blush over her nose before turning forward and continued to run without complaining.

"This test is weird" Gon commented.

"I expect this is an endurance test. Fine by me. I'll be right behind you!" Leorio announce with confidence.

Phoenix giggled a little knowing that Leorio will be panting very soon. She knew Kurapika was going to be okay if not a little out of breath and she was sure that Gon would still be full of energy once this is finished. As for her, well she could run for days if need be.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

 **Why does Hisoka seem familiar to Phoenix and how does Hisoka know her?**

 **I'm thinking of asking you all a question in my author notes after every chapter so let me know if you think I should or not?**

 **See you next time :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

Two hours have passed since the exam started. The applicants have travelled over thirty kilometres from the start. No one knew how far they must go. They are forced to run at the leaders pace, with no goal specified. It's a monotonous course with no end in sight.

Phoenix run next to Kurapika looking around at all the applicants, ' _Hmm, seems quite a few have dropped out already… how sad'_ She thought sarcastically.

Looking at her left she watched Leorio over Gon's head as he ran, taking notice of his sweaty, panting form quickly. Phoenix sweat dropped at the older teen's state so early in the exam before looking at Gon who was right next to her. He didn't looked bother at all which was good. Kurapika seemed to be breathing slightly heavier not that most people would notice.

She herself was feeling perfectly fine, in fact she was getting a little bored.

While Phoenix was getting lost in thought about how her friends were coping she heard the sound of wheels coming up to them. It past Leorio on his left drawing his attention immediately.

"Hey! Wait up, kid!" Leorio shouted at the kid on the skateboard now in front of him.

Phoenix turned to the person Leorio was shouted out she perked up a little in interests as the silverette from earlier was now riding his skateboard in front of their little group.

"You should show the Hunter exam some respect!" The teen continued to yell when he had the kid's attention.

The kid turned slightly too looked at Leorio before answering, "What do you mean?"

"Why are you using a skateboard? That's cheating!" Leorio declared.

The silverette looked up at Leorio innocently, "Why?" He asked a little confused.

"Why… This is an endurance test!" Leorio shouted louder.

Phoenix stumbled once the words left his lips and would have face planted if Kurapika and Gon didn't catch her in time. Once she had her balance back she turned to Leorio, "This is an endurance test? Since when? Why didn't you tell me? That was rude Leorio" Phoenix quietly scolded him while Kurapika chuckled and Gon smiled sheepishly.

The silverette looked at the toxic green eyed girl in amusement at her comment while Leorio looked at the girl annoyed.

Gon put his hand on her shoulder, "It isn't, don't worry" He reassured her and turned to Leorio when he was about to yell at him, "It isn't an endurance test Leorio"

Leorio bent down getting closer to Gon's face whist still running, "Gon, what are you saying?" He asked annoyed that that young boy wasn't agreeing with him.

"The examiner only told us to follow him" Gon said simply.

Leorio seemed to be getting more and more aggravated by the second and Phoenix was a little concerned that he was going to pop a vein or something. Looking at Kurapika who was watching Leorio with a deadpan expression shared an eye roll with the young girl before the two turned to watch the others again.

Leorio looked a little surprised as the silverette slowed down and passed him settling in between Gon and Phoenix, looking between the two in interest. Not having met anyone his age before he was curious to know what these two were like.

Gon and Phoenix looked at the silverette with innocent curiosity, "Hey, how old are you two?" The silverette asked them as he looked between the two.

"We're both twelve years old" Gon told him while Phoenix shyly nodded her head in agreement.

The silverette looked at them with renewed interest and curiosity before doing a quick trick with his skateboard that flipped it into the air before catching it under his arm, "Guess I'll run too" He said nonchalant.

Gon yelled out in amazement while Phoenix raised an eyebrow at the kid's carefree tone.

"Wow! That was cool!" Gon complimented making the silverette smile slightly.

"I'm Killua" He finally introduced himself.

"I'm Gon" The brown eyed teen introduced before the two boys turned to Phoenix who blushed slightly at the attention she was now under.

"Phoenix" She introduced herself in a soft voice earning small reassuring smiles from the two young teens next to her.

As Gon and Killua began to dive into light conversation Phoenix and Kurapika broke apart from the others and ran a head into the crowd.

The two ran in silence for a while, just enjoying one another's company before Phoenix turned to the blonde, "Hey Kura, how long have we've been running for? This is getting a little boring" Phoenix asked with her quiet voice.

Kurapika turned to his closest and truest friend while thinking for a moment before replying to her question, "It's been about four hours since the exam begin. We must have travelled at least sixty kilometres" The blonde told, "I'm not too sure how much longer we'll be running but try not to get too bored" He added with a slight chuckle.

Phoenix only gave him a playful smirk as her eyes gleamed with mischief making Kurapika sigh before ruffing her hair now that her hood was down for a bit.

The two long-time friends had been running up a long stairway when suddenly Leorio zoomed past the two shirtless, knocking them off balance from the surprise for a second before the two caught their balance and turned to each other confused before looking back up at Leorio who had his jacket around his waist and didn't have his briefcase.

The blonde turned to the brunette with a sigh, "I'll go see if he's okay, you should go and find Gon and Killua, see if their alright" He explained before he picked up the pace once the brunette nodded her understanding and slowed down.

It didn't take the young girl long before she found the two young boys who were now running up the stairs, it seemed that Gon now have Leorio's briefcase. Quickly and quietly she moved next to Killua without either of them noticing.

"Are you two okay?" She asked softly before jumping when the two let out screams and jumped away from her with wide stunned eyes, looking at her with frightened expressions, "Um, is something wrong?" She asked furrowing her brows.

Gon's face morphed into one of relief, while Killua's turned slightly annoyed but she could see the slight relief in his eyes, "When did you get there?" He asked irritated but he was more annoyed with himself then her, how did he not know she was right next to him?

Phoenix just gave them a sweet closed eye smile before looking ahead again ignoring the question. She didn't notice the slight pink tint to Killua's cheeks as the boys joined back up with her.

Gon turned to his female friend with excitement, "Hey Phoenix, we're having a race want to join? The losers have to buy the winner dinner" Gon explained with a bright smile.

The toxic green eyed girl looked at the two before nodding with a small excited smile making its way onto her face making the two boys grin back at her before the three took off together.

They've been running together for a good five minutes before they were catching up with Leorio and Kurapika, Phoenix could tell straight away how tense Kurapika was and could only guess that he was telling the glasses wearing teen about his clan.

The girl took quick notice that Kurapika had taken his turban off and placed it into his white shoulder bag that had a few things that the two of them would need, but he was also clutching the scarlet ruby necklace she gave in him a tight fist as it hung around his neck.

She knew for a fact that he only held onto it when he needed to calm down so she knew for a fact that he defiantly was taking about not only his clan but the phantom troupe as well.

Being too in thought she missed the end of their conversation as she and the two young boys ran up beside them, as they were passing them Gon called out, "See you at the goal Kurapika"

Killua smirked slightly before calling out to Leorio, "Catch you later, old timer" He said cheekily.

Leorio was quick to react just like Killua had hopped but when he said next made all of them freeze, "I'm not old! I'm a teenager, just like you guys!" He yelled at the top of his lungs in rage.

It was like time had frozen as the four looked at the shirtless teen in complete shock, Phoenix could have sworn that those around them had even stopped for a split second in shock as well.

"Huh?" Killua asked in disbelief.

"No way!" Gon exclaimed.

"Impossible" Phoenix shouted in shock getting wide eyed looks from the four as well, them not used to her being loud.

Once the three had snapped out of their shock they quickly ran ahead with Phoenix looking over her shoulder at Kurapika and gave him a sweet smile and a small wave which he was quick to return before she turned back around and ran with the two other boys.

The three were dodging fallen applicants and sometimes jumping over them as they ran up the stairs, not even breathing heavily or breaking a sweat.

None of them had said anything for a while and Killua was getting a little bored of the silence, "I'm impressed that you two can keep up with me" He said finally breaking the comfortable silence that surrounded the three.

The two looked at him before Gon began to rub the back on his neck with a slightly sheepish smile on his face, "Really?" He asked while Phoenix just raised an eyebrow at the silverette.

The silverette seemed a little put out by their responses but decided to let it go, "Or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow" He suggested before looking down before continuing with a slightly whiney voice, "Man… The Hunter Exam is gonna be a breeze. That's no fun" He complained.

"Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?" Gon asked his male friend on his left.

"Me?" Killua asked and continued when Gon nodded, "I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter" He admitted getting slightly confused looks from the two other teens, "I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it'd be fun. But this is disappointing. What about you two?" He asked them.

Gon was the first to reply, "Well, my dad's a Hunter. So I want to become a Hunter, like my dad" Gon explained to the silverette since Phoenix already knew his reasons.

"Hmm… What kind of Hunter is he?" Killua asked curiously.

"I don't know" Gon responded cheerfully making Phoenix and Killua look at him strangely.

Killua gave out a chuckled of amusement, "That's kinda weird"

"Really?" Gon asked innocently.

"You want to be like your dad, but you don't know anything about him?" Phoenix was the one to answer him with a slightly bewildered tone.

"I was raised by Mito-san" Gon explained to his two friends, "So I've only seen my dad in pictures"

"Who's Mito-san?" Killua and Phoenix asked in unison making Gon giggle and Phoenix and Killua to look away from each other with slight blushes on their faces.

"Aunt Mito" Gon told the two once he calmed down a little. "When he was twelve, my dad took the Hunter Exam. He passed and became a Hunter, then he left the island. I want to find out why he chose to be a Hunter over being with me" Gon finished with a smile.

Killua hummed in thought before turning to Gon's right and looked a Phoenix, "What about you Phoenix? Why do you want to become a Hunter" He asked curiously.

Phoenix looked at him and gave a small smile before looking forward again, knowing that the two boys were looking at her waiting for her answer, "My main reasons to becoming a Hunter is so I can help Kurapika with his goal but I've always dreamed of travelling the world and finding new unexplored lands. It sounds like freedom" Phoenix explained with an excited smile that made Gon and Killua smile with her.

"Sounds like a lot of fun. The freedom part sounds like the best of it though" Killua admitted making Gon nod in agreement as Phoenix giggled into her hand before the three look ahead as a light shone through the darkness of the tunnel.

The three were quick to pick up their pace to finish their race. They quickly past the front of the applicants as they sprinted ahead of everyone. Phoenix notice that she was neck to neck with the boys so she pushed down harder than normal with her next step which pushed just ahead of the boys as the three crossed the line.

The three came to a stop as the boys' shouted out 'GOAL' before they started to argue about was the winner as Phoenix stood next to Satotz-san watching with him as Gon turned to the examiner, "Hey, who was faster?" He asked.

"I believe that you two boys crossed the finish line simultaneously, while this young lady crossed just a few seconds before you two did" Satotz-san explain while gesturing to Phoenix who stood calming next to him giving the two boys a cute closed eye smile with her head tilt slightly, which made both boys blush.

"Oh…" Gon said a little disappointed before he perked up and pointed at the still smiling Phoenix with excitement, "Then, we'll buy you dinner" He announced while Killua reluctantly nodded with a sigh.

"Hey, Satotz-san. Is this where the Second Phase of the exam takes place?" Gon asked as Phoenix and Killua moved to the side out of the way of the door and sat down to rest a little while everyone else arrived.

"No, we still have quite a way to go" The examiner answered.

"Oh…" Was all Gon said before he went to sit down with his two friends who was playing rock-paper-scissors, where they made room for him and asked him to join.

After a few rounds Phoenix became bored with the game so she just looked out at the fog that kept her from seeing where they were exactly. The applicants were all coming through now and were forming a large crowd outside the doorway.

It wasn't long before Leorio came stumbling out wheezing and spluttering with Kurapika behind him scared the older teen might fall backwards but moved to his side once he was away from the stairs and out of danger of falling down them.

"Hey Kurapika" Gon called out once he noticed to blonde making Phoenix's head to snap up and over to Kurapika, getting a weird look from Killua.

Kurapika waved and gave Phoenix a smile happy to see that she make it and a nod to Killua before looking around at their destination, "Is this our destination?" He asked as Phoenix stood up from her spot next to Killua and moved to stand on his side. He place his hand on her head which had her hood up again since they were outside.

"No, it isn't" Gon answered him as Killua watched the interaction between the blonde and brunette and wander what was going on with them.

"I see" Kurapika replied and he took his hand back as Phoenix turned around and looked at Leorio with a concerted face and was about to ask if he was alright when Kurapika spoke again, "The fog is fading" Kurapika observed making Killua and Gon stand up.

Phoenix quickly turned around to see that they were standing in front of a grassy plain with a forest close by. She could only guess that they were going in there next. Looking at the forest Phoenix could only frown, there was a weird feeling about it, not something that scared her but something that made her feel cautious and put her guard.

"The Numere Wetlands" The examiner began.

"Swindlers Swamp" Phoenix added quietly to herself but the four teens around her heard but Kurapika and Killua who were the only ones who knew that she was talking about a gave a slight grimace.

"Also known as Swindlers Swamp," The examiner continued not having heard Phoenix, "We must cross these wetlands to reach Phase Two of the Exam. This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them being cunning, insatiable creatures who deceive humans and prey upon them. Be very careful. If you let them fool you… you're dead" He said simply.

"Cheerful thought" Phoenix mumbled making Killua smirk at her sass, as the applicants became a little freak out.

Behind them they heard the door begin to close as they turned around to see an unfortunate applicant who didn't make it in time beg for them to wait but it was too late for him. Once the doors where closed they all turned back to the examiner so he could continue to explain the rest of the exam to them.

"These wetland creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit… Hence the name Swindlers Swamp. Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived" The examiner finished with his back to the group.

There was a pause before Leorio spoke up with arrogance, "What a joke. How can they fool us, when we're expecting it?" He asked.

"Don't let them fool you!" A new unknown voice sounded shouted making some people jump as they all looked at the side of the structure that held the doorway.

"I just said they can't" Leorio said to himself.

Standing there was a beating up middle-aged man with light brown hair, a long nose. He was wearing a purple sweater with a faded green scarf around this neck, he was holding something in his hand out of sight to everyone, "D-don't fall for it…" He wheeze slightly, "He's lying to you!" He shouted pointing at Satotz-san.

Phoenix rolled her eyes and turned away from the man and happened to lock eyes with a golden ones which were sparking with amusement. Hisoka chuckled silently as he held up a few playing cards with a question in his eyes while the two of them ignored the man who was shouted out something about a man faced ape. Phoenix looked back to the shouting man then to Hisoka with a shrug, telling him to do what he wanted, unsure of why he was even asking her.

Hisoka gave an excited smirk before schooling his expression and flicking his cards at both Satotz-san and the shouting man causing everyone to gasp before going silent.

Three of his cards impaled the shouting man while Satotz-san caught the three thrown at him in between his fingers without effort before holding them up.

There was a sound of cards being flicked before everyone looked at Hisoka apart from Phoenix who was already looking at him, "I see, I see…" Hisoka spoke with his eyes closed and a carefree smirk on his face, "That settles it… You're the real one" He announced looking at the examiner sending most of the applicants into shock, while the 'dead' monkey ran away, "Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any hunter bearing the title we seek, would be able to block that attack" Hisoka finished up.

Satotz-san nodded his head slightly, "I shall take that as a compliment. However, should you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner. And you will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?" Satotz-san warned with narrowed eye.

"Sure" Was all Hisoka replied.

The sound of birds made the group turn back to the man that Hisoka had just killed to see that vultures were beginning to eat away at his corpse. Some of the applicants had to turn away but all Phoenix and her friends did was watch, Leorio seemed to be the only on freaked out but Gon seemed a little put out by it though.

"Nature really can be brutal to watch…" Leorio mumbled.

"So he was a man faced-ape, as well" Kurapika commented.

"He was attempting to confuse the applicants, to lure some away" Satotz-san explained and he moved closer.

"We cannot relax our guard" Killua advised with a tense face.

"Yeah" Gon agreed with a serious tone while Phoenix nodded her agreement.

"You will be encountering such deception on a regular basis. I believe a number of you were fooled into suspecting my identity?" Satotz-san asked although he knew the answer. Phoenix watch with an amused smile as Leorio and baldy rubbed the back on their necks with stupid looks on their faces before focusing on Satotz-san again, "Do you understand? If you lose sight of me in Numere Wetlands fog, you will never reach the exam's second phase. Do bear that in mind" He said giving the applicant one last warning, "Then let us be on our way. Please follow me"

With that everyone began to follow him in the forest and fog towards the second exam sight.

As Killua and Gon began to pick up the pace a little Phoenix turned to Kurapika, "I'm going to run with Killua and Gon for this bit so please be careful" She asked frowning a little.

Kurapika nodded, "I will be, you be careful too" He said seriously as the two smiled at each other and Phoenix nodded and ran a head to run alongside Gon and Killua.

Once she was level with them, making sure that her footsteps can be heard so they don't freak again like before, "I'm gonna run with you two, is that okay?" She asked shyly.

Gon and Killua both smiled and nodded at her, both being fine with her there, even a little glad she was. This way they'd be able to make sure that nothing bad happen to her.

"We've got to make sure to stay near the front" Killua told the two of them.

Gon nodded his agreement, "We're running through marsh this time. Running on wet ground requires more energy. Try and keep your strength up, we don't know what we might run into out here" Phoenix warned the boys quietly, making them nod with a serious look in their eyes.

The three had been running a few people behind the examiner for a good five minutes before he began to speak again now the fog had begun to thicken up, "Pay attention now, be sure to stay close behind me" He warned.

Looking around Phoenix took note that the fog had thicken again and could only guess that it gets thicker the further into the forest. As she was looking around she suddenly felt the hairs on the back on her neck and arms stand on end, she could feel the bloodlust in the air. She took a second to pin point it and discovered it came from Hisoka.

Looking at Killua and Gon she noticed that only the Silverette felt it and the way his eyes sharpened as he looked around he was trying to find out where it was coming from, Phoenix nudged him with her elbow gently before darting her eyes over to Hisoka once he looked at her. When he nodded back to that he understood he turned to Gon.

"Gon…" Killua said quietly making Gon turn to him before he noticed how tense the two beside him were but didn't understand why, "Let's move up" Was all Killua said not wanting Gon to worry but he wandered how Phoenix could feel Hisoka's bloodlust and identify it quicker then he could.

"Okay" Gon said clueless, "We don't want to lose sight of the examiner"

Phoenix shook her head at his naïve nature but said nothing, knowing that Killua would explain it, "I'm more concerned with increasing the distance between us and Hisoka. Staying too close to him is dangerous. I can smell it in the air" Killua admitted grimly while Phoenix nodded in agreement with him.

"Smell?" Gon asked a little confused before sniffing the air making Killua and Phoenix shard a perplexed look with each other before looking back at the blackette, "Hmm… I don't think he smells" He murmured, "Leorio! Kurapika! Killua and Phoenix sais that we should move up!" He shouted out.

"Hey…" Phoenix said quietly dumbfounded that he just did that.

"Can't you feel the tension surrounding us?" Killua asked him a little concerned about his mental health.

"Moron! If I had the strength I'd already be up there!" The three heard Leorio shouted back at them from somewhere behind them making Phoenix put a hand on the side of her head in disbelief.

"Don't worry about us!" Kurapika's voice was, it's sound coming from the same direction that Leorio's voice came from, this time making Killua deadpan.

"What?" Gon called out a little disappointed that his friends couldn't catch up at the moment.

"Let's go Gon" Killua said to him a little firmly, already knowing that Phoenix wasn't going to be hanging around and will be right by them.

"Ah, wait!" Gon said hurrying to catch up with them as they raced ahead but he caught up pretty quickly.

As they were running the three talked quietly amongst themselves to past the time, "I wonder what kind of animals are in here" Phoenix asked making sure to keep close to Killua and Gon as they had put her in the middle of them as they ran just in case.

Gon thought for a moment, "Maybe wolves? Or Bears? Oh what about tigers?" Gon answered excitedly.

Killua and Phoenix chuckled, "Your thinking more of wood or a jungle Gon. There are probably mostly snakes, turtles, frogs and maybe even alligators" Killua said knowing more about places like these then Gon who grew up no where near a swamp, well he didn't either but he's been to a few before to train.

Phoenix went a little pale before turning to Killua with a frown on her face, "Do you really think there are snakes here?" She asked in a shaky whisper, as if she talked to loud that she would summon a heap of them.

Killua and Gon looked at her curiously before Killua smirk with mischief, "Are you scared of snakes?" He asked playfully.

Phoenix nodded before taking a shaky breath, "I was almost eaten by a snake when I was little, I've been terrified of them ever since" Phoenix admitted.

Killua looked at her a little wide eyed, not expected that kind of an answer, "Don't worry Phoenix, we won't let any snakes near you!" Gon declared not wanted his friend to be scared.

As they were talking all three of them could hear people screaming all around them, not noticing that they had strayed away from the main group and lost them.

"I hear people screaming all around us" Gon spoke up worried about Kurapika and Leorio.

Killua only looked ahead not letting the screams affect him too much, "Just stay on your guard" Killua advised.

"I wonder if Leorio and Kurapika are okay" Gon admitted making Phoenix look at him before looked ahead again.

"Don't worry Gon, Kurapika can take care of himself, I know that for a fact and Leorio is with Kurapika so they'll be fine" Phoenix told him full of confidence making the boys look at her and nod, not doubting her.

They continued to run before they ran onto some grass that felt weird, it was squishy like a jellyfish. The three didn't have time to think about it before the ground collapsed and they feel into the dark.

It was very wet and smelt horrid. The three were sitting on something sticky that felt like sandpaper.

"Where are we?" Gon asked looking around.

Before Killua or Phoenix could answer him wherever they were started to move in a swaying kind of motion. The rocking knocked Phoenix over who didn't have her balance and she rolled over into Killua who wrapped his right arm around her waist automatically to help keep her steady, he didn't even notice he was holding onto her until she grabbed the front of his shirt as whatever they were in continued to move. Killua could feel his face burning and was sure it was be red as a cherry but ignored it for the time being.

As Phoenix got her balance back but didn't let go of Killua in case she fell again she answered Gon's question, "If I have to take a guess, I would say we are currently in somethings stomach" She said as she smelt the sour scent of acid, "From the way it's moving it defiantly has legs so we thankfully aren't in a the stomach of a snake" Phoenix sighed with relief.

Killua and Gon both turned to her with deadpanned expressions before Gon, who had gotten used to the darkness noticed the way the two holding onto each other and snicker behind his hand, "Are you comfortable?" He asked cheekily.

Both Killua and Phoenix blushed a glow red as their hearts were thumping so hard against their chest that they could hear each other's heart beats making them blush harder.

"S-shut up! Phoenix lost her balance and probably will again if I let her go" Killua stuttered out for the both of them as Gon laugh loudly.

The silverette shook his head as the brunette buried her head into his chest in embarrassment before Killua suddenly sat up straight making her look up but she was greeted with Killua shoving his skateboard, that he held onto with his left hand, in between them before using said left hand to dig into his pockets and pull out the spare can he took from Tonpa before the exam had even started. He cracked it open with one hand and pour it all out into the stomach acid around the bit of flesh the three luckily landed on.

"Hold on" Killua warned the two as he grabbed Gon's wrist as whatever swallowed them expanded before they were all being pushed out with the stomach fluids around them. Once the three were on the group they all took a greedy gulp of fresh air as the frog, which they now know, that swallowed them walked away.

Killua let go of Phoenix and she gave him back his skateboard before all three of them stood up.

Gon chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, "Guess he didn't like the taste of us" He said a little offended.

"It was this" Killua said simply as he held up the can that he in his hand before throwing it away.

"That was Tonpa-san's! Guess he saved us!" Gon said cheerfully.

"Well, I could have escaped" Killua said nonchalant but Gon and Phoenix could read between the lines, he didn't want to leave them in there which made them smile at each other secretly.

"I'm still worried about Leorio and Kurapika" Gon admitted look back at the way the frog have come.

Killua turned around pulling Phoenix with him, "Forget about them. Like Phoenix said, they can take care of themselves. Let's get a move on. We can still catch up to the examiner" Killua told him.

"They'll be fine Gon, we'll meet up at the end, I know we will" Phoenix told him as the two took off not noticing that Gon wasn't following them.

The two ran in silence and it wasn't until they found the main group that they noticed that Gon wasn't with them making them sigh before they joined the main group knowing that if they went to find him that they would only get lost and fail. They just had to believe that Gon would make it to the end of the Phase.

Once the two finally made it to the end of the second Phase they began to look around for any sign of Gon, Kurapika or Leorio but they couldn't find them. The two were beginning to really worry, mainly Phoenix since couldn't find Kurapika and wasn't used to not knowing where he was.

Just before the end of the second phase Killua finally spotted the three all together under a tree. Kurapika and Gon seemed to be okay but Leorio had a big bump on his cheek that they could guess came from someone punching him, and hard.

The two made their way over quickly, "Gon" Killua called out to blackette grabbing all three of the teen's attention.

They all turned to see Killua and Phoenix rushing towards them, Kurapika seemed to deflate with relief once he say the toxic eyed girl coming towards him quickly.

"I can't believe you actually got here…" Killua admitted as Phoenix rushed to Kurapika and threw her arms around his waist hugging him tightly while the blonde hugged her back just as tight, "I thought you were done for" Killua said jokingly.

"I just tracked Leorio's cologne" Gon explained to the two once Killua was with them.

Killua and Phoenix both looked at him strangely, a little confused, "Cologne? That was how? You definitely are weird" Killua told him in disbelief but Gon only laughed it off.

"Is he part bloodhound?" Phoenix asked herself but Kurapika heard and chuckled to himself as the two let go of each other.

"Excellent work everyone!" Satotz-san announced gaining everyone's attention, "Phase two of the exam with occur here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave" He said to everyone as a farewell before making his way back into the forest out of sight just as the gates to Biska Forest Park opened.

 _'One Phase down, only 4 or 5 more to go! I can do this!'_ Phoenix thought to herself and she walked alongside Kurapika towards where the Second Phase would take place.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, I apologise that it took me forever to upload this but my laptop was in for repairs for a while and then I had to catch up with a lot so I made this chapter a bit longer then normal.**

 **Hope you like the chapter :)**

 **I would just like the say thank you for reading my story, the reviews and for follow and favouring, it means a lot to me that people want to read my work.**

 **I mentioned in my last authors note that I was going to asking you guys a questions every chapter and I'm going to start now. So the question is: _Who is your favourite character from HxH and why?_**

 **See you all next time :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

The gates that would lead all the applicants to Phase 2 opened letting everyone inside.

"Will all applicants who passed the First Phase please enter?" A feminine voice called out inviting everyone inside.

Phoenix walked next to Kurapika as she walked inside looking around at what looked like small cooking stations. Looking at the little cooking stations a little closer a nervous bubble was growing in the brunette's stomach.

' _I hope this Phase isn't what I think it is'_ Phoenix thought to herself anxiously. Kurapika must have sensed her nervousness as he looked at her worriedly but she only gave him a small smile not wanting to share her thoughts at the moment. The blonde was going to find out soon enough, if he hadn't already.

Looking at the front at the two who the brunette guessed to be their examiners. The women that had called out had mint green hair tied up in five top nots. She wore a bikini top with a mesh over shirt over it, along with short daisy duke shorts. She had a pair of purple high heel shoes that reached beneath her knees with pink bows along the shin. She seemed a bit eccentric but Phoenix could feel the power this women had.

Her companion was the complete opposite to her thin, fit body structure as he had a giant potbelly and a hulking figure. He wore a yellow long sleeve t-shirt that seemed too small for his stomach as most of it was hanging out. He has short brown hair and wore no shoes. Phoenix didn't even know what to say about the man.

Once everyone was inside and in front of the two the women started to speak again, "Welcome! I'm Menchi, the Second Phase examiner" The mint haired women introduced herself before gesturing to the big man behind her.

"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner" The big man introduced.

There was a slight paused with no one saying anything before a loud growl split through the air making everyone confused and Menchi smirk.

Tilting her head backwards slightly Menchi looked at Buhara, "You must be hungry" She commented.

"I'm starving" Buhara seemed to whine.

"There you have it. Phase two will include…" Menchi spoke loudly to everyone as she stood up, pausing for dramatic effect "Cooking!"

Everyone seemed to stutter with surprise, even Kurapika gave a slight cough making Phoenix looked at him and everyone else confused, she thought it was obvious that the Second Phase would include some form of cooking… _'Maybe I'm the only one using my brain here'_ Phoenix deadpanned to herself.

"C-cooking?" Baldy asked astonished.

The wrestler next to him, Todo Phoenix remember vaguely, was looking annoyed with the exam's test, "Wait! Cooking?" He shouted, "We're here to take the Hunter Exam!"

"That's quite right!" Menchi agree casually, "Your challenge for the Second Phase is to produce a dish that will satisfy our palate."

"Why do we have to cook?!" Someone else shouted at her.

Menchi closed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips, a sign that she was getting annoyed Phoenix noted quickly, "That's because we are Gourmet Hunter!" She announced proudly with a straight back.

All anyone did was laugh and mocking her which only infuriating her, while Phoenix rolled her eyes at the morons. So what if she's a gourmet hunter? She's probably one of the reasons there's so much healthy edible food around.

Everyone had soon gotten at hold of themselves, "So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?" Todo asked ignorantly.

Menchi sent him an annoyed looked, knowing he was mocking her, "Buhara" She said not even turning to look at her partner.

Buhara stood up sending little vibrations through the ground, "The required ingredient is pork" Buhara told everyone loudly, making sure everyone heard.

As soon as the words left his mouth Phoenix froze. Don't get her wrong she was a decent cook, having to cook for Kurapika and herself but she hadn't cook anything that had to do with pig before, she hadn't even cook a single piece of bacon before.

Buhara talking again snapped Phoenix out of her internal panic, "You're free to use meat from any species of Biska Forest pigs. You must use the cooking facilities here to prepare the pork. And you can only pass if we both find it delicious" Buhara explained to applicants.

"And we will evaluate more the just the taste" Menchi was quick to add, "Don't underestimate the intricacies of cooking. Got it? When we've both eaten our fill, the exam will end" The mint haired women finished.

Todo only waved her away carelessly, "We get it, we get it. Let's just start" He said full of confidence.

"Then, the exam's Second Phase begins now!" Buhara yelled out slapping is stomach as a gong.

Everyone ran out quickly to start looking for their pig, all hoping to be the first to pass.

Phoenix jogged next to Killua in front of Kurapika and Leorio with Gon in front of all of them. The toxic green eyed girl rolled her eyes hearing people call out for the pigs, don't they know anything.

"Catch a pig and cook it. This is way easier than the first phase" Leorio said to his friends' not even bothering to stay quiet.

"I hope it's that simple…" Kurapika commented.

As Phoenix looked around she felt Killua nudge her arm gently before nodding over to the side with an excited grin, she looked over and quickly saw Gon sliding down a hill. Looking back at Killua the young girl nodded with a sweet smile on her lips as she followed him as he slide down the hill. She heard Kurapika and Leorio slide down after the three of them so she didn't bother calling out to them.

She could hear Killua in front of her shouting in joy which brought a smile to her face. His shouts of joy quickly turned to surprise as Gon stopped at the bottom of the hill and didn't move, causing him to slide into his friend's back.

Phoenix noticing that she was about to run into Killua's back quickly rolled to the side making Leorio who was behind her run into Killua's back and Kurapika into Leorio's.

She looked up once she stood up and dusted herself off to see that Leorio was glaring at her annoyed but all she did was smile at him innocently with Kurapika smiling at her, eyes full of amusement.

"What was that about, Gon?" Killua yelled accusingly.

"Found them" Was all Gon said looking to his right.

Following his line of sight Phoenix tensed up looking at the giant pigs with the largest nose that she has seen on an animal, but they were chewing on bones. Carnivores. Carnivorous pigs, that's new, was all Phoenix could think before she was running alongside the boys trying to get away from the pigs.

The stampeding pigs caught the rest of the applicant's attention and soon they were running as well, most of the getting flung through the air by the pig's large noses.

"These pigs are crazy!" Leorio yelled out as they were running.

As she was running Phoenix looked over her shoulder trying to find a weakness, hearing some yelling she looked over as Todo threw a large bolder at one only for it to be smashed to pieces by its nose.

Baldy threw some of his shuriken at it but they there were knocked away by its nose.

Using the momentum of the speed she was running, Phoenix ran up the trunk of a tree and onto a branch high enough that she was out of the danger zone but low enough that she could see everything clearly.

Looking down at the pig that had chases her up the tree she took in pig's nose more closely. From what she had seen it had only use it for defence and tossing things up into the air. It has only every thrown his head backwards but never downwards.

As soon as that thought popped into her head Phoenix looked towards its forehead. It was an easy target if one was to get above the pig, so the large noses must be used to protect the pig's soft, weak foreheads.

With a quick plan in her mind Phoenix kicked off of the branch she was perched on flipping around so she was nose diving to the ground, she grabbed to tip of the nose and planted her feet on the tree so she was parallel to the ground and her stomach facing the sky.

Killua who saw something falling from the tree looking over and was quick to notice Phoenix sandwiched between the tree and the pig and was about to go and help her when she kicked off the tree with enough strength to dent the trunk. He watched as she gracefully flipped over to pig and brought the platform of her heeled shoes down to the pig's forehead with as much force as she could.

Phoenix quickly jumped off the pig as it squealed and flipped over onto its back dead. Feeling eyes on her she looked up and made eye contact with shocked sapphire eyes. The toxic green eyed flushed under his gaze and gave a small wave before going to collect her pig knowing that a lot of people had seen her kill the pig and had gotten the idea of how to kill them.

Quickly heading back while dragging her pig by its strong nose she noticed she was the first one to return. She gave a shy smile to Menchi and Buhara who were looking at the young girl shocked as she lift the pig onto the bench of the cooking station that she had chosen.

The brunette was quickly joined by Gon who took the station next to her, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio all chose stations around the two so they were working in the same area.

Not knowing what else to do Phoenix quickly gutted the pig, taking all the internal organs out and draining most of the blood and putting it aside but leaving enough to keep the meat moist.

Once she was happy with the gutting she skinned the pig, thinking that she could always just try to cook it like she would a deer when Kurapika and she were camping out in some woods while travelling.

Once everything was complete she speared the pig and put it on the fire to roast. Not bothering to turn it like everyone else was doing she left it and went to look at all the spices she had to work with. Quickly grabbing the oil and salt she poured some of the oil on to her hand. She caressed the pig with her oiled hand on the uncooked side before she was happy and sprinkled some salt over the meat. She turned the pig over and repeated the progress again.

As the pig cooked she washed her hands free of the oil and boiled some water, she added some of the blood she had saved while also keeping an eye on her pork. She added a few spiced and stirred until it thickened before turning the heat onto low and letting it simmer.

Taking the meat off the fire she put it back onto her clean bench and proceeded to cut pork into stripes.

Bring to blood sauce over she dipped the bottom end of the pork strips into the blood before placing them onto a large plate she had received from the cupboard.

Setting the pork around the plate like a platter she poured the rest of her sauce into a small bowl and placed that in middle with some parsley leaves in the centre.

Looking over at Kurapika she noticed she he had made what looked like sandwich with the pork as the bread which didn't look too bad not that she would know, seeing as she doesn't even like pork. Too bad he didn't get passed but them again Kurapika couldn't cook to save his life.

Phoenix looked around and was quick to notice the annoyed looked on most people and wondered why but that was answered when someone else was failed and they grew the same look as everyone else. She had been too wrapped up in her cook she blocked everything else out.

Taking a deep, nervous breath Phoenix went up to serve the pork platter she had made. She was acutely away of how everyone was watching her making her hands shake a little.

Once it was her turn to present her dish she quickly put it in front of the two examiners before backing away.

Menchi only looked at it for a bit making the brunettes hands shake even more out of nervousness.

The mint haired women looked up at the shy girl in front of her a little surprised, she didn't say anything just took a piece of the pork and placed some into her mouth.

As soon as the pork had entered her mouth she froze with wide eyes, I didn't seem like she was breathing either, which worried Phoenix making her think she poisoned the food somehow. She started to scratch her cheek gently with her index finger, needing something to do with her hands.

Buhara was staring at Menchi and was about to ask if she was alright when the mint haired women squealed and jumped at the young toxic eyed girl, taking her into a hug that lifted her off the ground. All anyone could do was watch the frozen young girl as Menchi rubbed her cheek against the younger girls.

The brunette's four friends watched with wide eyes at the scene not knowing what to do.

"I've never tasted anything like this before!" Menchi started to gush putting the young girl down and taking her hands, bending down to her level, "The flavour just danced around my mouth, it was well balanced and nothing was over powering. It was perfect! You pass number 402!" Menchi shouting making sending everyone including Buhara into shock. The mint haired women suddenly gasped with an idea, "I just had a great idea! Become my apprentice?" She asked hopefully.

Phoenix could only looked at the women in shock at what she had just said. She only snapped out of her shock when the women nudged her, "Um, I don't know, I'm not as passionate about cooking as you and I would hate to insult you like that" She said trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn't crush the women.

Menchi only smiled, "That's okay, and I can understand that! But you still pass!" She said happily.

Phoenix sighed in relief that she understood and took her hands back before bowing slightly to her older women, "Thank you for the opportunity and passing me. If I even change my mind I will contact you, if that's alright?" She asked smiling sweetly. Even if she wasn't passionate about cooking doesn't mean she couldn't learn a thing or two from the older women once she had completed her goal with Kurapika, it could be fun after all.

Menchi nodded excitedly and gave the brunette her business card that had her number on it and all her details.

Phoenix gave her another sweet smile before turning around to go back to her friends once Buhara gave her a pass as well.

Making her way to Kurapika's station she sat down on Kurapika's bench as he smiled proudly at her.

Gon, Killua and Leorio came over still looking at Phoenix shocked that she had been the only one to pass so far.

Before any of them could say anything Buhara spoke up from the front, "That was so much food, I'm stuffed!" He said happily patting and rubbing his even larger belly.

"Yeah, I'm stuffed too" Menchi said annoyed before standing up, "Therefore, only one passes. We're finished here" She announced.

As soon as the words left her mouth there was an uproar as the applicants started shouting at her about being unfair and they won't accept it. Phoenix tuned them all out and only focused in when there was a large smash as Todo smashed his station.

The four boys moved a little closer to Phoenix in case someone tried to attack her since she was the only one to pass.

"I won't accept it…" Todo started with a pissed tone, "I absolutely refuse to accept this!"

"In the end, you've still fail" Menchi said simply.

"Stop screwing around!" Todo shouted, "You asked for pork, so we risked our lives to-"

"I said to prepare the pork in a manner we both found delicious… Only one of you made anything remotely delicious! You all did almost the same time. There was no effect made… Just when I thought someone other than 402 actually tried, they only changed the appearance. No one attempted to emphasize the flavour but her!" Menchi explained pointing at Phoenix who shrunk under everyone's glares. "I'm positive that none of you took cooking seriously!" She finished.

Baldy only shrugged, "Pork dishes are all the same…" He stated but couldn't finished as Menchi had grabbed his front and started to yell into his face, much to Phoenix's amusement.

Once she had calmed down she sat back down in front of Buhara, "In other words, you people don't have the guts to try anything new" The mint haired women mocked.

"Shut up!" Todo shouted, having had enough of the women, "I'm not trying to become a cook or a gourmet… I want to be a Hunter" He said proudly getting cheers from the people around him, "My goal is to become a black list Hunter. I refused to let a mere Gourmet Hunter decide my fate!" He finished.

Menchi didn't even bother to look at him, "Too bad you got stuck with a mere Gourmet hunter as an examiner. Better luck next year" She mocked.

Todo was quick to turn red in the face as her mocking, "Why, you… Don't mock me!" He screamed in rage as he threw himself at her about to attack before he was knocked away by Buhara to the other end of the park where he hit a wall and fell to the ground.

"Buhara, don't interfere!" Menchi warned him.

"Well… If I hadn't interfered, you'd have killed him right?" The large man asked.

"Probably" Menchi said amused as she got out four sharp knives and started to juggle them as they spun, "Let me clarify this… we frequently venture into the dens of ferocious beasts, searching for ingredients. Every Hunter knows some form of martial art. You lack focus and the willingness to experiment. That alone disqualifies you from becoming Hunters!" Menchi finished sending everyone into silence.

"That said," A new voice spoke up surprising everyone, everyone looked up to see an airship with the Hunter Exam symbol on the side, "It would be excessive to fail every single applicant but one"

There was a mumbling of shock going around as everyone stared at the airship. Suddenly something came crashed down from the ship to land in the centre of the park, creating a large crater and sending dust and pebbles everyone. Once everyone had put their hands down from shielding their faces they could see an old man with his hair in a high pony tail and in a white outfit with large sleeves that hide his hands.

"Wh-who's that geezer?" Someone asked.

"The Chairman of the Selection Committee. He's in charge of the Hunter Exam… Chairman Netero" Menchi informed everyone.

"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue, like now" Chairman Netero explained to everyone. "So, Menchi-kun"

"Yes, sir" Menchi said with a serious expression.

"You failed all of the applicants but one because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?" Chairman asked.

"No, sir… I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters. And I made the exam harder than necessary" Menchi explain shamefully.

"In other words, you're aware that the exam was unacceptable" Chair summarized.

Menchi nodded her head, "Yes, sir. When cooking is involved, I lost control. I'm unqualified to be an examiner. I will resign as examiner, so please redo the Second Phase!" Menchi requested.

"But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice" Chairman said thoughtfully.

"I apologize" Menchi apologized bowing a little.

Chairman looked up at Menchi, "Very well, how about this? I'd like you to continue serving as an examiner. But you must also participate in the new test you propose" Chairman reasoned surprising Menchi, "Is that acceptable? I'm certain that will help the applicants to accept to results" Chairman explained.

Menchi smiled looking down, "That's true… Then the new challenge will be boiled eggs!" Menchi announced getting odd looked from the applicants, "Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half in your airship?" Menchi asked pointing to the airship.

"Mt. Split-in-Half? I see what you're doing. Certainly I can" The Chairman agree.

Soon everyone was on a mountain with a huge split down the middle, just like the name suggested.

Looking over the edge with Gon and Killua, all Phoenix could see was the outline of something going across from one side to the other through the thick fog.

"Now everyone. Look down here" Menchi instructed everyone, "Spider Eagle's web" She answered someone's question.

"They build webs down there?" Gon ask and Phoenix scooted a little bit away from the edge when a little bit fell from where she had her hand before making her a little nervous as a gust of wind blew up at them.

"Look below the web" Menchi told everyone ignoring Todo as he fell back in fright.

"Are those?" Gon started to ask.

"Those are Spider Eagle eggs" Menchi confirmed for him putting her hand on Phoenix's head as if she could feel the young girl's nervousness.

"Spider Eagles build their webs in deep ravines, to protect their eggs from predators. This makes their eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain. The eggs are also known as dream eggs" Chairman explained further.

"W-wait a minute… You don't mean we…" Todo asked frightened.

"I sure do" Menchi said before bending down next to Phoenix, "You don't need to get one sweetie, you've already passed and I'll get you one so you don't have to" Menchi said with a happy grin to the young girl she took a liking to.

Phoenix looked at the old women gratefully, "Thank you Menchi-san" she said with a sweet smile that make Menchi squeal before she walked over to the ledge and jumped right off giving everyone a fright.

Everyone watched as she grabbed onto the web before flipping over it letting it go before coming back down and grabbing it again before just hanging there.

"Even if she can grab some eggs, how will she climb back up?" Leorio questions making a lot of people worry.

Phoenix only watched not saying anything, she knew for a fact that if there was no way for Menchi to come back up then she wouldn't have gone done there or even make it the test, not with the chairman there.

After a few seconds of nothing Menchi suddenly let go of the web, grabbing two eggs on her way down. She continued to go down into the fog where no one could see her anymore.

"Hey… She jumped down" Leorio pointed out making Phoenix roll her eyes and Killua who had caught it to snicker, "Is she trying to kill herself?"

Kurapika shook his head slightly, "No, she's not" He answered.

Before Leorio could ask what he meant a strong gust of wind blew upward and blew Menchi back onto the cliff while she still held the two eggs.

"That looks fun…" Killua said amazed while he and Gon both looked on in wonder.

"This ravine had updrafts that help chicks fly up the web" Chairman explained for everyone.

Menchi landed next to the chairman holding one of the eggs out, "There. Now I just need to boil the egg" Menchi told everyone before giving Phoenix hers with a bright smile, getting a sweet smile in return.

While Todo was blabbering on about how no sane person would jump down Phoenix was giggling into her hand as she watch Gon jump straight off, followed closely by the other three boys. The four boys were follow by quite a few of the other applicants. Menchi panic for a bit since she still had somethings to explain but it was too late now.

Instead she came and sat next to Phoenix near the edge, "So, what's your name?" She asked the young girl as she took the egg and gave it to Buhara to boil for the two, which he was happy to do.

Phoenix turned to the older women before turning to watch her friends again, "Kurapika calls me Phoenix… I don't remember my real name so he gave me one" Phoenix confessed not looking at Menchi.

Menchi looked at the young girl beside her in surprise not expecting that answer, _'Hmm, something must have happened for her not to remember her own name'_ Menchi thought but kept it to herself knowing it was probably a sensitive topic, "Why'd he name you Phoenix?" She asked instead.

Phoenix looked at her a little surprised that she didn't asked about how she couldn't remember, "The night he found me I was really injured and he wasn't sure if I was going to make it but I did. He said it was like I was a Phoenix, rising from my ashes" Phoenix said giggled at the end, "But I know it was because he was reading a book that had a Phoenix in it, he just doesn't know I know" She said cheekily making Menchi giggle.

Before Menchi could say anything else they heard a snapping noise and looked down to see the web about to break completely when suddenly everyone still hanging on let go grabbing eggs on the way down.

The updraft followed shortly with everyone landing safely on the cliff again. Phoenix smiled at Menchi again before getting up and going to see if her friends were okay, not knowing that Menchi was watching her.

' _She's just like him'_ Menchi thought to herself before instructing everyone to boil their eggs.

Once all the eggs were finished boiling everyone was sitting around enjoying them. Phoenix sat next to Killua leaning on Kurapika's back as he leaned back creating a comfortable pressure between the two as they all snacked on their eggs.

"These are really good!" Killua said happily.

Phoenix giggled before taking another bite of her, swallowing before answering him, "You're right, better than the normal eggs you get at the supermarket"

"I can see why they're called dream eggs" Kurapika commented getting head nods from the other two and Leorio who was sitting in front of the blonde.

Phoenix looked over to see Gon sharing his egg with Todo and Menchi going over to talk to the two.

Looking up she smiled happy to have a moment like this with her friends while they were in such a dangerous Exam.

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 **A/N: A little bit about what skills Phoenix has and her strength. I've put a little bit about how Kurapika and she met as well as her past so hope you like it.**

 **Answer from the last chapter: Personally my favourite character is Chrollo, I love the mysterious and powerful vibe he has.**

 **Question of the chapter: What's your favourite known Nen ability?**

 **Love the reviews guys and I love you all.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please follow, favourite and review. Until next time** **xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

 **Please read A/N at the end of this chapter.**

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Finally finished with the Second Phase all the Hunter wannabes gathered back onto the airship waiting in front of Chairman Netero for the next Phase to begin.

Phoenix stood next to Kurapika with her hands folded in front of her. She was standing closer than normal to him in the crowded room feeling nervous about being so high up and around so many people at one time.

The blonde bumped the young girl next to him to reassure her that he was there and there wasn't anything to worry about which finally allowed the brunette to relax.

"Allow me to introduce myself to the forty-three remaining applicants" Netero began speaking loudly so everyone could hear him in the room, "I am Netero, Chairman to this year's Hunter Exam Selection Committee"

"I am his secretary, Beans" The little green bean thing next to Chairman told everyone cheerfully.

"Originally, I'd planned to make my appearance during the exams final phase, but as I'm already here…" The Chairman paused for a tense few seconds, as if everyone was waiting for an attack, "I'm loving this tension in the air! So I think I'll stick around for the rest of the trip" The Chairman finished with a slight chuckle.

"We are scheduled to arrive at our destination tomorrow morning at 8am. You'll find dinner waiting in the dining hall. You are also welcome to get some rest. In other words, you're free to do as you please until you are contacted" Beans explained before the Chairman and himself left the room.

Straight away Killua turn to Gon and Phoenix excitedly "Okay, Gon, Phoenix! Let's explore the airship!" He announced to the two.

"Yeah!" Gon answered just as excited.

As the two boys turned to Phoenix she smiled sweetly at them as she waved them away slightly, "I'm going to pass, and I'm getting something to eat before getting some rest. Thank you though" She said quietly, almost as if she was afraid to turn them down.

Killua and Gon looked a little disappointed but didn't push the matter, they could tell that she was tired from the faint bags under her eyes. The said goodbye to the three before running off to explore the airship.

Leorio watched them go with slight surprise, "How can they have so much energy? I'm hitting the sack" Leorio said tiredly.

Kurapika nodded, "You can say that again. However, I do have one concern" Kurapika suddenly spoke up seriously as the three were making their way out of the room.

"What is it Kura?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"How many more phases are there?" The blonde asked.

At the questions the three stopped and thought for a moment, "They've never mentioned that, have they?" Leorio asked himself.

"On average, there are five to six phase" An annoying voice spoke behind them, turning around they realised it was Tonpa, making Phoenix blanch a little.

"Oh, Mr Box Nose" Phoenix greeted innocently with a slight mischievous glint in her eyes as she watched him twitch and try not to glare down at her. The two older teens next to her pursed their lips trying not to let their laughter escape.

"Which means we still have three or four to go…" Leorio spoke up having recovered quickly and remember what Tonpa had said.

"All the more reason to rest now" Kurapika added and they turned to leave.

"But you should be careful" Tonpa warned them but only Kurapika and Leorio stopped and looked at him again while Phoenix having grown bored of his nonsense already continued but came to a stop just outside the door and waited for her two friends to finish dealing with Tonpa.

It didn't take long before the two emerged sharing an eye roll with each other. Phoenix looked at the two weirdly but they only smiled and shook their heads at her, letting her know that there was nothing to worry about.

Phoenix smiled and nodded back before pushing off the wall she was leaning against, "I'm going to head to the dining room then I'll come and find you guys" The toxic green eyed girl told them before waving and heading in the opposite direction as them.

Arriving at her destination Phoenix did a quick sweep at the room, noticing there wasn't too many people in the room and made her way to where the food was being served, being sure to ignore the leers she was getting.

Looking over everything available she noted the wide variety they had but just went for a simple fruit salad.

Just as she was about to grab the salad she felt the presence of somebody behind her, turning her head slightly, she took note of the two men standing behind her.

One was shorter than his friend. He had tanned skin, short black hair styled in spikes. He wore a simple long sleeve blue top with black pants under a pair of grey shorts. The taller one was paler then the first with brown hair also in spikes. He wore a green hoodie with a purple vest over it. He was simple green pants. Their numbers were 390 and 391.

Phoenix looked at them with fake curiosity, "Can I help you?" She asked with a shy voice knowing what they wanted as they stared down at her with a strange glint in their eyes.

"Yeah, how about we go and have some fun just the three of us?" The taller one asked in a husky voice that make Phoenix's skin crawl.

Phoenix only turned back around and grabbed her fruit salad and a fork before she turned back to the two men, "Sure, but I'll need to bring my friend. He doesn't like it when I'm with people he doesn't know" Phoenix said with a bright smile as she pointed at someone in the back of the room sitting by himself with no one around him, ignore the way the words seemed a little too familiar to her.

The two men looked at who she was pointed at and froze as they mean bloodthirsty golden eyes.

Hisoka having seen the young brunette enter the room and hadn't taken his eyes off of her. His eyes narrowed at the two men that seemed to be bothering her looked over at him, he heard what she had said and was amused to no end the way she handled them that he decided to play along and wave her over to his table.

Phoenix smiled at the two men before making her way to the clown in the back. Once she was at his table all she did was place her food on it and took a seat.

Looking at the golden eyed man she smile at him, "Thank you for that" She said simply in a sweet tone.

Hisoka only chuckled as he brought a deck of cards out and began to shuffle them just for something to do while he talked to the young girl who had willing joined him.

The two were silent as Phoenix ate. Once the toxic eyed girl finished she stood up and put her bowl onto another table before sitting down in front of Hisoka again, folding her hands and placing them on her lap under the table.

Looking up she locked eyes with golden ones who were looking back at her silently asking a question, "Do I know you?" She asked bluntly with a toneless voice.

Hisoka blinked before smiling at her, "You do, I knew you when you were younger" He confessed, "But you don't remember that do you?" He asked.

Phoenix looked down at the table and shook her head, "I don't remember a lot from when I was a little girl. All I can remember when I try to think back then is a lot of screaming, blood and a menacing laughter" Phoenix explained to Hisoka, "I don't even remember my real name, Kurapika gave the name I have now when he found me but anything before that is all fuzzy"

Hisoka watched her for a moment frowning before reaching over and put a gentle hand on her head making her look up at him to see him smiling at her, "It'll come back someday, don't try and force it or you might damage your mind. You've subconscious buried all your memories into the deepest part of your mind and if you force it you'll only hurt yourself" Hisoka told her seriously.

Phoenix looked at him a little unsure before nodding, "Thank you Hisoka" She said with a sweet smile before pausing, "Wait if you knew when I was little, that means you know what happened, right? That you know my real name?" She asked hopefully.

Hisoka chuckled as he took his arm back and began shuffling his cards again, "I do. I know a lot about you my dear" He confessed, "Would you like me to tell you your name at least?" He offered.

The toxic green eyed girl thought for a moment before shaking her head standing up, "No, I want to find out about who I was on my own. It's something I need to do by myself but thank you for offering" Phoenix said bowing to the clown who watched in amusement, "But I must ask before I leave, were we close?" She asked slightly nervous.

Hisoka smile at the young girl again as he nodded, "We were, I looked after you sometimes and you always had a good time" Hisoka explained to her.

The brunette smile brightly back at him, "Then I hope that we can be close again, like back then. But for now I need to go and get some rest. I shall talk to you soon" She said smiling sweetly as she waved before making her way out of the room to find Kurapika and Leorio, leaving a grinning Hisoka behind.

' _Still as polite as ever, aren't' you Snowdrop'_ Hisoka thought before going to find an empty room to build a deck of cards to get some peace and quiet.

Phoenix didn't have a hard time finding her two friends, it was only the third room she check when she found Kurapika and Leorio leaning against the opposite wall with no one else in the room. Making her way quietly across so she didn't wake them up she make her way to Kurapika's side who was covered in half a blanket while the other half was at his empty side that he left for Phoenix when she came to rest.

The brunette smile as she crawled under the blanket and cuddled up to Kurapika who placed his arm around her protectively making her jump slightly thinking he was still asleep.

Looking up with guilty eyes she met Kurapika's tired grey eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up" She apologized in her quiet voice.

Kurapika shook his head slightly, "I wasn't asleep. I was waiting for you to come in" Kurapika whispered to the tired brunette curling into his side, "Get some sleep Nix" He told her as she yawning into her hands.

Phoenix nodded and laid her head on his shoulder with a quick goodnight before she let sleep over take her.

"Goodnight" Kurapika whispered back as he rested his head on hers and gave into the sleep that had been trying to take over for a while now.

* * *

 **A/N: A little more of Phoenix's past and her relationship with Hisoka. As well as a hint of her true name. I am aware that Hisoka is a little out of character but I'm going to make it so he has a different kind of relationship with them then he has with Gon and Killua**

 **Can anyone guess her real name?**

 **I was thinking of doing a little crossover by bringing a character or two into the story from another anime or two. Any suggestions on who should make an appearance?**

 **Answer from the last chapter: My favourite Nen ability if Machi's Nen strings.**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your favourite ark of the series?**

 **Love the reviews guys and I love you all.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please follow, favourite and review. Until next time** **xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

Waking up Phoenix blearily opens her eyes bringing a hand to her face to rub the sleep from her eyes. Once she was able to see clearly she looked around. She was still leaning on Kurapika, who was also waking up. Leorio was on Kurapika's other side snoring away but on her left side she felt the warmth of someone else.

Looking over she saw a head full of fluffy white hair that could only belong to Killua. He seemed to be asleep. _'He must have come in after I fell asleep'_ Phoenix thought to herself pushing off of Kurapika slightly.

The blonde looked down at his closest friend and gave her a tired smile as a good morning not fully awake yet.

Phoenix returned the smile before using small, slow movements to stand up so she didn't wake Killua up.

Once standing Phoenix stretched her arms above her head and lent back slightly, listening with satisfaction to the series of cracks that her back made from sleeping in an upright position all night.

Finishing her stretching she looked over at her friends, Kurapika was now fully awake and putting the blanket back into his bag, Leorio was starting to wake up now and Killua was also wide awake and watching her.

"Good morning" Phoenix said brightly to Leorio and Killua.

"Morning" Killua replied as he stood up and Leorio just mumble gibberish not awake enough to form words that made sense.

Before Phoenix could say anything a chiming noise echoed throughout the airship from the speakers around the ship, "I apologize for the long wait. The airship will soon arrive at its destination" The announcer informed the applicants.

The brunette sighed before looking at Leorio who was still having trouble waking up. Growing a thoughtful expression Phoenix walked up to the oldest teen in their little group as Kurapika and Killua, both of whom were ready to go, watched her curiously.

Bending down so she was eye level, Leorio only stared at her blankly through sleep hazy eyes. They quickly snapped wide open as Phoenix slapped both of his cheeks simultaneously before pulling his cheeks apart.

Killua was snickering at Leorio's stretched, outraged face while the blonde next to him was smirking finding it amusing.

The glasses wearing teen managed to finally slap the younger girls hand away before jumping up, Phoenix only gave a small innocent smile as she stood up in a slower, calmer pace, "WHAT THE HELL?" Leorio yelled at the girl.

Amused Toxic green eyes were the only answer he got before the owner of said eyes turned away and left the room with Killua. Kurapika taking pity on the elder boy waited for him to collect his belongings before the duo followed the younger two.

The airship had landed by the time the group of four made it to the exit the airship where they had ran into Gon who happily greeted them, getting a curious and expecting look from Killua. Gon just gave him a wide smile and peace sign. That seemed to satisfy the white haired teen as he smirked at the boy before the five teens continued to the exit. Phoenix exchanged confused with the older two teens walking slightly behind her but they only shrugged their shoulder not knowing what the two were doing either.

Making their way off of the airship the group of five gathered in front of Chairman Netero and his secretary Beans.

"What is this place?" Someone asked in the crowd.

"There's nothing here" Another said.

"Ahem" Beans cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention, which he succeed in "Everyone, the exam's Third Phase will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower"

"Trick Tower?" A man close to them asked Beans curiously.

"To pass this phase," Beans continued without answering the man "You must reach the towers base alive. The time limit is seventy-two hours. With that, we will now begin the Third Phase. I pray for your success" Beans announced before the Chairman and himself retreated back into the airship before it took off and left the applicants on top of Trick Tower. "Best of luck to everyone" Beans spoke to everyone over a speaker on the airship as it took off.

Looking around Phoenix moved to the side of the tower with the boys followed her. Seeing how tall the tower really was from the top make Phoenix quite nervous as she took a few steps away from the edge and closer to Kurapika.

"Are we supposed to climb down?" Leorio asked his nervousness coming through his voice.

Phoenix felt her muscles tense slightly but not enough to be noticeable as Kurapika answered the older teen, "That would be suicide"

There was a slightly chuckle from behind them making all five turn to the man standing behind him with his arms crossed arrogantly, "Maybe for a normal person"

The man was average looking, there wasn't anything special about him. He wore his badge on the right side of his chest with the number 86 printed on it.

He walked over to the side before sitting down. He started sliding off the edge slowly as he turned himself so he was facing the wall. Once he has his grip steady he stared to climb down with more swiftness then Phoenix expected of the man.

"But a top-class rock climber can handle this, no problem" Number 86 conceitedly.

"Wow…" Killua commented slightly impressed.

"He's going down pretty fast" Gon added as the man started to utter under his breath to himself.

Before anyone else could add a comment their heard distanced noise similar to a bird squawking. Looking around they watched as a bunch of creatures that looked a cross between a giant ugly baby and a bird, flying around the side of the Tower, going straight for number 86. The man didn't even have much time to yell out for help when one of the creatures swallowed him whole cutting him off.

The five watched the creatures leave through wide disturbed eyes, "G-Guess we can't climb down the side" Leorio stuttered out as the other nodded in agreement.

After agreeing to split up to look for a way down to the bottom of the tower the five made their way around the area on their own.

Standing closer to the middle Phoenix looked around at the applicants and noticed the decrease of people loitering around. Spinning around in a slow circle while mentally counting the remaining applicants her eyes locked with a pair of mischievous golden eyes.

Hisoka gave her an amused smile as he pointed down in front of him before he stepped on the tile he pointed on. The next moment he was gone, the tile had flipped around taking him inside the tower.

Phoenix's toxic green eyes widened before she whirled around and taking a step to go over to Kurapika. She was about the call out to him when the feeling of falling was quick to take over her senses causing a small yelp to escape her mouth.

Surprised Phoenix was able to snap out of it just in time to land safely on her feet in a crouch, her hands in front of her so her body's position slightly resembled a cat. Doing a quick sweep of the room she had landed in, it was empty apart from a sign over a little stone pedestal with a single watch resting on it.

Seeing and sensing no one in the room with her the young teen stood up straight before making her way to the stone pedestal.

Phoenix put the watch on her left wrist over her black arm warmer. The watch had a small screen that had the time left to finish the Phase. 71:45:38 hours was the amount of time she had to get to the bottom of the Tower to complete the Phase. Beneath the screen with the time left was two buttons, an _X_ and an _O._

"The path you have chosen is one that is full of all kinds of unknown surprises. You have chosen the Path of Random" Phoenix read out loud to herself with her head tilted to the right slightly with a confused look on her face. "Path of Random?" She asked herself under her breath.

The room suddenly filled with the sound of a microphone being turned on, making Phoenix jump and scout the room for anyone but all she found was a speaker in the corner to her left, "That is correct! My name is Lippo. I am the prison warden here, as well as the Third Phase examiner" Lippo explained to her.

Phoenix sucked in a sharp breath, "Prison warder?" The young girl probed him slightly concerned.

Lippo either didn't hear her question or chose to ignore it, "Multiple routes through this tower have been prepared. You have chosen the Path of Random. Luck and instinct will be the key, if you wish to clear this phase of the exam. You will have to do anything from answering questions to escaping traps to fighting. You can't start until you have pressed _O_ to move on or _X_ to stay in the room. Best of luck young lady" Lippo finished before turning off his microphone leaving Phoenix in silence.

The toxic green eyed girl stared at the speaker with a deadpanned expression for a few extra seconds before rolling her eyes and sighing. Bringing her wrist up, she quickly pressed _O_ making a door in the wall slide across opening the path for the young teen.

Two hours later Phoenix had answered a few simple questions like: _'What's the number of this Hunter Exam?'_ Of course she chose the correct answer, 287th, she also had to get past a couple of traps like a pit fall with sharp spikes at the bottom, and she just jumped from wall to wall in a zig-zag pattern till she got to the other side.

Starting to get annoyed she walked into next room. It was completely empty, there wasn't anything on the ceiling either. Sigh Phoenix took a steady step in but making sure to keep a leery eye out just in case something popped out of nowhere.

She had barely put her foot flat on the ground before the tile gave way and landed with a splash. Jumping back to the doorway quickly Phoenix peered down at where the tile was before only to sweat drop at what she saw.

Down below was a good deal of water but that isn't what bothered the young teen. No it was the eels that gave off small jolts of electricity as they swam around aggravated by the fallen tile.

' _How am I going to get across if the tiles just fall as soon I put my weight on them? There must be a trick to this, but what is it?"_ Phoenix thought to herself as she carefully looked around the room for any kind of clue. Unfortunately there wasn't even a whisper of a clue. Frowning she thought back to what Lippo had told her about this phase.

' _Luck and instinct will be the key, if you wish to clear this phase of the exam.'_ As his words drifted through her mind Phoenix gasp as she understood what she needed to do for this trap.

"Luck and instinct are the key to this path, before it's all be about luck now I can't just rely on luck but also my instinct" Phoenix thought out loud to herself.

* * *

Lippo who was watching the young girl from the security room had to admit that he was impressed that the toxic green eyed girl had been doing so well alone. _'I wonder how she'll do against the floor and eel trap'_ Lippo thought to himself.

His eyes widened in shock though when Phoenix pulled her scarf off her around her neck and tied it around the top half of her face. Now all that was visible was her plumb pink lips that were pursed in concertation before smoothing out as she took a deep breath.

The purple hair man chocked on the chips he was munching on as the young girl seemed to dance around the room with no hesitation, she leaped from one tile to another before spinning around one so she didn't step on it. This continued for a good minute before she was on the other side safe and none of the trap tiles touched.

Lippo who was on the edge of his seat deflated back against his chair as he watch through dumbfounded eyes as the girl untied her scarf before wrapping it around her neck again before she clicked _O_ on her watch to get to the next room.

Looking at his assistant who was standing next to him was just as stunned as he was, "Have-have you ever seen anything like that?" Lippo demanded once he finally found his voice again.

His assistant only shook his head not being able to find his voice.

Lippo looked back at the screen to see she had finally made it to the room with one of the prisoners inside, "The key to the Path of Random is luck and instinct yes, but to so blindly trust them while have her eyes closed is just remarkable and she did it perfectly. She doesn't even know _Nen_ and she could determine the safest route, I could only imagine what she would be capable of once she's master it" Lippo ranted to himself.

One this was for sure though, if this girl past the Hunter Exams she could become one of the most powerful Hunters the world has seen.

 **A/N: Hey guys, I know I haven't been posting for a while I wasn't sure what to do for this chapter so I was getting inspiration from watching some different shows and i finally got it as you can see :)**

 **Answer from the last chapter: My favourite Ark is the Yorknew City Ark. I love the Phantom Troupe and that the original are back together for a little while.**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your favourite Nen type?**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.  
**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter, love you guys. Bye :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Entering the room the first thing that Phoenix saw was the other person cover in a cloak on the opposite side of the room. The room itself was quite large, it was completely round with candles in the wall where it's missing a stone so the candle had somewhere to sit. Behind the cloaked person was a door to the next room.

' _Looks like I'll need to fight my way out of this room'_ Phoenix thought to herself.

"My opponent has arrived, remove the shackles" A deep voice called out before the shackles on the person's wrist automatically unlocked and dropped to the ground. The person tore their cloak off reviling the unknown person to be a man.

Throwing the cloak behind him Phoenix finally got a proper look at him. He had ash grey hair that fell in lazy curls around his face and reached the nape of his neck. His sickly yellow eyes were slitted like a snakes. He was rather slim and reached at least 6'2" to her 4'5" a good foot and a bit taller than her. He looked like he was around his mid-twenties. His clothes were just plain brown rags that all the prisoners were made to wear. He looked innocent giving her a bright smile but the air around him screamed danger.

"Allow me to explain, young lady" Lippo's voice suddenly spoke through the thick tension that had been begin to rise in the room, "Before you is a prisoner from Trick Tower. The Hunter Exam Committee has also officially hired them as examiners. You will be fighting against him to pass to the next room. You must agree on a method of fighting. There will be no draws. The winner is declared when the opponent admits defeat or dies" Lippo explains.

"However the fight won't as simple as winning or losing. The prisoner's sentence will be reduced by one year, for every hour they delay you here. In other words, his goal is also to buy as much time as he can" Lippo finished.

Phoenix's opponent bowed to her at the waist, "My name is Hades, it's nice to meet you my lady" The prisoner, Hades, introduced himself.

The toxic green eyed girl bow slightly never taking her eyes off of her opponent in case he attacked her suddenly, "My name is Phoenix, I'm not sure it's nice to meet you, Nightmare Hades" Phoenix spoke a casual tone as if discussing the weather.

Hades gave a cheerful laugh that bounced off the walls off the large empty room. "So you know who I am? That's great, I didn't think such a cute little girl, like yourself, would know who I am. I'm honoured" He beamed.

Phoenix just looked bored as she answered, "Yes well, you were only caught two years ago. You're a serial killer, you only go after young girls but you didn't kill them until you have tortured them until they broke and went insane. Their ages could be from anywhere from ten to twenty and because of that I doubt you'll want anything but a death match" Phoenix presumed.

Hades gave a chuckle that wasn't cheerful and would have sent chills down a lesser person's spine. Phoenix only raised an eyebrow at him, "You are correct my lady" Hades suddenly gave an insane grin to Phoenix, "I can't wait to break you!"

The two stared at each other for half a scared before they both ran at each other. The two began to exchange blows. Phoenix quickly realised that Hades was using a striking motion with his hands, as if they were snakes. Making sure not to let him strike her Phoenix weaved around his hands, pushing them aside if she couldn't dodge.

One of Hades strikes managed to get through her defensives and he would have strake her right shoulder if she didn't drop to the floor onto her side. Turning onto her stomach she balanced herself on her hands as she kicked out, getting him straight in the middle of his stomach. The force of her kick sent him flying a few meters away landing painfully on his back with a grunt, the breath being knocked out of him.

Using the recoil from her kick Phoenix flipped over onto her feet watching as Hades climbed to his own with his hand on his stomach.

Looking up Hades gave Phoenix another insane grin, "My, my, I wasn't expecting that. You're stronger than I thought" He cackled.

Phoenix said nothing only spreading her legs slightly, her left foot slightly in front of her right. Bringing her hands up in a boxing style, her elbows tucked in and level with the chest, fist clenched in front of her face with her left being slightly higher than her right. She waited for Hades to make the next move.

She didn't need to wait long before Hades came charging at her quicker than the first time. Using the same striking motions as before but these were a lot faster, his hands were beginning to blur now, but Phoenix was about to keep up. Moving just as quickly, the young teen was about either dodge or push his hands away before they could touch her. She was quick to notice that he his strikes were pushing her towards the wall.

' _He's trying to back me into a corner, the room might be round but if I get too close to the wall then I've got a limited amount of room to move. I won't be able to move back or forward. Damn he's not just fast but strong too'_ Phoenix thought while also looking for an opening.

Seeing that he didn't have any openings, Phoenix realised that she'd have to make her own by either catching him off guard or getting close enough to hit him without be strake by his hands.

Deciding it would be safer and smarter to catch him off guard instead of putting herself in unnecessary danger, Phoenix pushed one of his hands away with more force then she had before, disrupting his balance Phoenix moved quickly punch him in the chest with her right fist. But Hades was quicker he moved to her left side. He lifting his left leg and swung it at the girl.

His foot hit her right in the middle of her stomach with enough force to make her cough up blood before she was sent flying into the wall, creating a large crater and a loud bang. Dropping to the floor with bits of the wall and a small dust cloud surrounding her, Phoenix landed on her hands and knees coughing, trying to get the air back into her lungs.

Once she got some of it back although still breathing hard with her left eye scrunched eye in pain, she looked up to see Hades walking over to her drunkenly with a wide grin as if he was getting high off her pain.

Quickly standing up before he could getting any closer to her Phoenix pushed the painful throbbing of her stomach to the back of her mind, ignoring the blood that ran out of her mouth and down her chin, she sprinted to the grey haired male.

Hades certainly wasn't expecting the young girl he just kicked into a wall to recover so quickly if the widening of his eyes was anything to go by and he definitely wasn't expecting her to be able to move that quickly so soon. Taking advantage of his surprise that made him pause Phoenix threw a punch at his stomach. Instead of following forward with her hit she angled her arm to push him down to the floor.

As soon as Hade's back connected with the stone floor cracks began to form and made a large ring around the two being at least two meters wide, keeping up with her powerful punch Phoenix keep on pushing down on him until the floor couldn't take it anymore and gave out, dropping not only Hades but herself down to the room below where they would continue their fight.

* * *

Killua had just finished his opponent, Johness the Dissector, by ripping out his heart and made his way back to his friends. He could Gon telling the other that he was from a family of assassins but he honestly didn't mind, if they didn't like him afterwards then that's that. He knew the others were surprised and he couldn't really blame them.

"I'm back" He said as soon as he stepped onto their platform. Leorio seemed to be nervous and slightly scared as jumped back a bit but the others weren't too bad, Kurapika and Tonpa just looked at him surprised but there wasn't any resentment or fear in their eyes, "What?" He asked innocently to Leorio.

"Uh… Well," Leorio stuttered, "Good work!" He said trying to be enthusiastic but obviously failing but Killua just shrugged, he knew Leorio would get over it in a couple of minutes.

The situation made him think about what Phoenix would think when he told her what he was. Would she look at him with disgust, would she still be his friend? Shaking his head a little confused about why he would even care what Phoenix thought about him.

Before anyone could say or do anything else there was a loud bang from about them that made the walls and floor vibrate, it was as if something had hit the wall hard, very hard.

Looking up in confusion they were all silent trying to hear whatever was up there, even the prisoners were being quiet but they had a slightly nervous look on their faces as if they knew what was up there. They probably did now that Killua thought about it.

Suddenly the middle of the ceiling started to crack before it gave out and chunks of the stone ceiling started to fall down to the fighting arena, along for the ride were two people.

One of the people was falling with their back facing the floor. The other person had their back towards them and were rather dusty, they were currently kneeling on the first person with their fist in their stomach.

No one could tell who they were until the second person jumped off the first, at the same time speeding up their descent to the floor where they landed with loud smack that mixed in with a sickening crack of breaking bones, while they jumped from stone to stone until they were able to safely jump to the floor and land in a crouch. Even though they had soften their landing by slowing down their descent they still cause a small crater as they landed and sending a small shockwave in every direction getting rid of the dust cloud that had formed.

Everyone was now about to get a better look at the pair that had fallen from the room above them.

The five boys gasp aloud once they got a good look at who was crouching in front of them with their back towards them. Phoenix. Some strands of her hair had fallen out of her bun and her clothes were covered in dust. They could see the blood that dripped from her chin falling to the floor in front of her.

Knelling down on the balls of her feet, she her right knee facing what was left of the ceiling, her left leg was facing more to the left side of the room with her right hand in the middle of her legs using her fingertips to keep balance. Her left hand was clutched and resting on her knee with the knuckles facing the floor.

The boys couldn't speak as the young girl rose from her crouch but didn't move from her spot. Her entire focus was on her opponent that was slowly getting up from the ground with some difficulty.

He was holding onto the left side of his chest where it seems that some of his ribs had broken from the fall. He was breathing hard and coughing a little blood up but he still stood up and sent a chilling glare at Phoenix who only narrowed her eyes at him.

Looking down so that the ash grey hair covered his eyes he roared at the young girl in front of him, "YOU BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" Looking back up Phoenix knew right then and there that he had completely lost it and had gotten ten times more dangerous.

Quickly dropping into a different fighting style then her boxing one earlier, she slip her right leg back so they were just a little wider then shoulder length apart. Bringing her left hand up, she faced her palm at Hades as her right was fisted and tucked into her side, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Finally gaining control of his voice again Kurapika yelled out, "Phoenix, are you okay?"

Phoenix didn't turn around knowing that would be the end of her, shouted back, "Kurapika? Is that you?" She panted still trying to gain her breath back from when she was kicked into the wall.

"Yeah, it's me. Gon, Killua, Leorio and Tonpa are here too. Are you alright? What's going on?" He asked back just before Hades gave another roar and charged at Phoenix before she had a chance to reply.

Giving her full attention back to the fight she was currently in the middle of, Phoenix charged forward as well. As the two clashed in the middle Phoenix could tell instantly what had changes because instead of snake like strikes Hades was throwing punches. A few that she hadn't been quick enough to block made contact and they were solid enough to grimace at.

From the platform he was on Killua could only watch in complete shock as Phoenix block her opponent's punches and also getting quite a few shots in as well. His eyes widened at she dropped down and gave swift sweep kick knocking her opponent's feet out from under him, but unfortunately he did a back hand spring and quickly gaining his balance again. It was very impressive and not at all what he expected from the shy, sweet girl he thought he knew.

"That's Nightmare Hades" Kurapika inform the four other boys watching Phoenix fighting intensely, "He's a serial killer that goes after younger girls around phoenix's age to twenty. He's supposed to be very calm and collect but he's completely lost it" The blonde breath out.

"Doesn't that guy torture his victims past breaking point before killing them?" Leorio gulped as Phoenix ducked under a high spin kick and get close to punch him in the left side of his chest where his broken ribs are. Kurapika just nodded not that Leorio could see it as he was too focused on the black haired girls fight.

Hades let out a loud shriek of pain as he slid around the floor before hitting one of the pieces of ceiling that littered the platform the was right in the middle of the new room. Looking around for something that could help give him an edge. He didn't find anything until he saw a body just lying there with a small puddle of blood underneath him. Smirking he quickly ran towards the body just as Phoenix smash her heeled boot where his head was a few seconds ago.

Before Phoenix knew what was happening a body came flying at her, the man was obviously dead. His missing heart was enough to give it away but what confused her is where he even came from.

Moving to the quickly as the blond man flew past her she didn't have time to react before Hades was clutching her throat and slammed her into the ground on her back. The blow was hard enough that she coughed up some more blood.

"Phoenix!" Her friends called out as Hades kneels above her, straddling her waist and began to chock her. She grabbed onto his wrists trying to pry his hands off of her as she tried to gasp for air.

Thinking over the situation quicker than a normal person could Phoenix saw the perfect way to get out. Taking one of her hands off of his wrist she jabbed her hand as hard and deep as she could into his broken ribs. It did the trick because he sat up straight and taking his hands back so he could grab his ribs again, hoping to lessen the pain.

Since he was sitting up he was also not putting any of his weight on her which allowed her to pull her knees to her chest and using both feet kicked him to the opposite end of the platform they were on. Sitting on and moving so she was on her knees and sitting back on her feet she rubbing her neck to sooth what she was sure to be an angry purple bruise very soon. At that moment she was very grateful for the scarf that Kurapika had given her a while ago.

She watched as even though he was in immense pain Hades stood up making her do the same even though she stumbled a bit.

The two charged at each other again both throwing a punch at the other but halfway through her punch Phoenix smirk. Bringing her left hand up quicker than the eye could see she caught Hades right fist as she brought her own back to her side.

Completely enrage Hades growled menacing as he threw is left hand out to punch her in the face but that fist was also caught.

Phoenix now with both of his fist jerk him towards herself and jammed her knee painfully into his stomach making him cough up even more blood that landed on the front of her shirt. Letting go of his fist as he stumbled back Phoenix stepped forward on her left and spun counter-clockwise throwing her leg out and nailing the grey haired male right in the side.

Her kick sent him close to the edge but over it. Seeing that he had landed on his front she quickly jumped over to him landing on his stomach, forcing him to cry out.

She grabbed his chin with her right hand and the back of his head with her left hand, she twisted his head as quickly and with as must strength as she could in her tired state. There was a loud crack as his neck snapped at the quick and forceful tug. Once his shocked face was facing her she let go, watching as his lifelessly head fell to the ground.

Standing up she stepped backwards a few paces before she stumbled on a small piece of ceiling and falling onto her butt. Groaning she laid back and finally caught her breath.

"Lippo-san, I won!" She announced loudly to the Examiner for the Third Phase.

The speaker came to life, "Y-yes you did. Good job" Lippo answer slightly nervous. He really hadn't expected that kind of power from such a small girl but now that he thought about it he really should had. All she had shown throughout his phase was her different kinds of strength, whether it was her mental strength at the answers or her quick thinking and now her physical strength _'This girl is something else'_ Lippo thought to himself.

"What am I supposed to do now? I can't get continue the route I was on can I?" Phoenix asked curiously as he friends came running up to her worried.

Leorio already had his briefcase open to treat her wounds. All she did was smile at him with a split lip, when did it even split? She had to wonder.

"Since you are unable to continue your own route you will continue on the Path of Majority rules with these five and spend the next fifty hours they lost in the room to the side with them" Lippo explained to the tired girl.

All she did was nod before she picked up bridal style by Killua as Kurapika and Leorio fussed over her and Gon excitedly complimenting her fighting. Tonpa was just behind him shocked and a little scared that the small girl was so powerful. Smiling at her friends Phoenix let them fuss and fret as Killua carried her to the room they were given for the next fifty hours. She wonder briefly why they had to spend fifty hours in there but decided she was too tired to care at the moment and would asked once she had some sleep.

Walking into the room the six Hunter wannabes were glad the room seemed rather cosy. There was an 'L' shaped glass table in the middle of the room. A small fridge near the door. Two three seater couches facing each other on opposite sides of the room. A bookcase was next to the couch of the left side of the room. Next to the bookcase was a door that lead to the bathroom Phoenix guessed. There was a digital clock of the amount of time they were spending in the room on the back wall.

On the right side of the room was a T.V on top of a wooden cabinet. Next to that was a single black chair that had the same design as the one near the door and the couches. Next to the single chair was the other three seater couch.

Killua walked further into the room before anyone else to set Phoenix down on couch on the left side of the room. Leorio was quick to follow him and started to check up on Phoenix as she explained everything that had happened since she entered the tower. The boys were all surprised about when she told them about the floor and eel room but then she started to explain her fight.

Once she was finished Kurapika was the first the speak up, "Honestly, you always get into fights with dangerous people" He sighed in amusement, "But I'm glad you're okay Nix"

Phoenix smiled sweetly back him just as Leorio finished wrapping her stomach to give it a little support.

"Nix?" Gon asked a little confused.

Killua sighed next to him, "It's a nickname Gon, it's her name shortened" The white haired boy explained before turning to the girl in question, "I didn't know that you could fight?" He inquired.

Shrugging her shoulders as she sat up and leaned her back against the back on the couch, "You never ask" She winked making Killua's face gain a tint of pink on his cheeks.

"Oh yeah, Killua" Kurapika suddenly spoke up as he remember something, "Can you tell me how that technique works?" The blonde asked.

"Technique?" Killua asked a little confused. The other boys looked at him expertly while Phoenix looked lost at what they were talking about, making her looked like a little sad kitten. Killua shook his head at his thoughts again, wondering what the hell was going on with him today. He decided to just focus on what Kurapika was talking about.

"The one you used to instantly remove his heart?" The blonde clarified for him.

Realising what he meant Killua put his hand in front of him but away from Phoenix who he was now sitting next to on the couch as the others crowed around the two, "Oh, that wasn't even a technique, I just ripped it out" He explained as he sharpened his nails to claws, smirking at the looked of shock on the girl sitting next to him, "But to make it easier, I manipulated my body a bit" Killua continued ignoring the amazed looked he was getting and the interested one he was getting from Phoenix that made him a little uncomfortable, "Mass murderers are still only amateurs. I used to be a professional. But my old man would've done better. When he removes a heart, you won't see even a drop of blood" He finished looked slightly proud of his father.

"How reassuring" Leorio muttered as he walked over to the couch of the other side of the room to sit down and relax for a bit.

"Well then…" Killua spoke up again but more cheerfully this time, looking at Gon and Phoenix excitedly "We have more the two whole days"

"What should we do, Killua?" Gon asked curiously as he set his bag down against the glass coffee table.

"First, we should search the room for any kind of entertainment" Killua announced carefree.

"Yeah!" Gon said excitedly.

As the two turned to Phoenix Leorio cut in, "Phoenix can't join yet, she needs to rest for a while and get her strength back. Afterwards she can play with you two" Leorio add when the two younger boys sagged a bit.

The two sighed before nodding and giving phoenix a small smile each as Kurapika went to find a pillow, which he found in the bathroom. Before the two boys ran off to explore what was in their small room Killua helped the black haired girl lay down by supporting her back.

The two went to the T.V first and Killua was able to get it working. Kurapika came back into the room with a pillow and a blanket. Handing the pillow over so Phoenix could put it under her head, he spread the blanket over her body as she thanked him and closed her eyes, glad to finally able to get some well-deserved rest.

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 **A/N: Two chapters in one day! Wow!**

 **This is the first fighting scene I've written so don't know if it's good or not so please be gentle with me…**

 **I would like to give special thanks to fantasy.92 for helping me come up with Phoenix's opponent.**

 **Answer from the last chapter: My favourite Nen type is Transmutation, like Killua's lightning and Hisoka's Bungee Gum.**

 **Question of the chapter: Who do you prefer out of the adult trio? (Hisoka, Illumi and Chrollo)**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter, love you guys. Bye :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

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Waking up the first thing that Phoenix noticed was the ache coming from her stomach. Placing her hand where is ached she winced and pull her hand away as if it burnt. It took a moment to realise what happened, she remembered her fight with Hades, her stomach must be sore from when he kicked her into the wall.

Sitting up slowly, all the while wincing but not loud enough for the others to hear, she noticed that she had been moved. Instead of laying on the couch her head was resting on the middle seat of the couch and either side of her were Gon and Killua. Gon seemed to be fast asleep with the blankets kicked off in his sleep, but Killua was wide awake sitting up on his elbows.

Gazing around the room she took note that it was dark and the others were all sound asleep. A hand on her shoulder had her jerking her head towards her right from the little shock, making her grimace from moving her neck too fast with the bruise that is no doubt there from her fight, to meet a pair of concerned sapphire eyes that almost seemed to glow in the darkness.

"You alright?" Killua asked in a low tone so not to rouse the others.

Phoenix nodded slightly, not moving her neck too much, "I'm okay, just a bit sore" She whispered, "Did I wake you?" She asked then.

Killua shook him head, "Nah, was already awake, I can go two or three days without sleep" The white haired boy told his friend.

The toxic green eyed girl nodded in understanding as she moved carefully to sit on the couch, Killua lied back down but turned on his stomach so he could carry on talking to her.

It was quiet for a few minutes as Phoenix woke up a bit more, "You said you were a professional before," She started ignoring the way Killua slightly tensed as if preparing for the worst, "What did you mean by that?"

Killua didn't answer for a moment just stared into her curious toxic green eyes before sighing, "I'm from an elite family of assassins, so my whole family are in the business. I didn't want my life to be decided for me so ran away. I'm only here because I had nothing else to do and I heard the Hunter Exam was meant to be really tough" He explained softly.

Phoenix hummed somewhat to herself, "What's your family name?" She asked next.

Killua raised a thin eyebrow at the question, nobody has ever asked that question before, they had usually become too scared to ask or run away, "The Zoldycks" Killua informed her.

Nodding her head Phoenix reached up and started to unwrap her scarf. Placing it on her lap she started to rub her neck. From the wince on Killua's face she knew the bruise was here and it was bad.

"You okay?" Killua asked worried as he gazed at the purple and blue bruise the wrapped around the front of her neck.

Taking a deep breath to help ease the pain slightly Phoenix nodded before reaching up higher and undoing her bun. Her black hair fell down her back and over her shoulders in thick black waves that made her eyes stand out more then they normally would.

Looking down at Killua she was a little confused to see his cheeks taking on a slight redness to them. Quickly putting her hand on his forehead to check for a temperature seemed to only make the redness darken before Killua pulled away and buried his head into the couch.

"Killua? Are you okay?" Phoenix asked a little nervous. Lifting his head the white haired boy nodded but couldn't meet her eyes, "If you say so. Do you mind getting me Kurapika's bag please?" She asked sweetly.

Wordlessly Killua stood up silently and made his way near the door where Kurapika was sleep in a similar way the three younger teens were sleeping. Silently grabbing the bag he walked back to Phoenix and place the bag gently onto her lap before sitting cross legged next to her.

Nodding her in thanks Phoenix opened up the bag and dug under a few things before pulling out a simple black brush. Pulling the brush through her hair to get rid of all the knots Phoenix turned to Killua who was watching her with an unknown glint in his eye that make Phoenix a little nervous.

The silence lasted a few minutes before Killua broke it, "You never told me what your parents do?" Killua asked curiously.

Phoenix paused before placing the brush in her lap and pulling her hair over her left shoulder and braiding it, "I think my parents are dead" Phoenix said thoughtfully.

The sapphire eyed boy looked a little lost for words for a second, "What do you mean you think?" Killua asked confused.

Phoenix hummed in satisfaction once her hair was tied, the braided falling just under her chest, "I don't have many memories before I met Kurapika. All I can remember before being on my own is a lot of blood, a fire and a creepy laugh. After that whenever I think back to then it comes up empty or when I used to live on the streets and steal food and money" Phoenix explained quietly.

Killua nodded slightly in understanding, "Is that why you took the Hunter Exam? You said before that you want to help Kurapika with his goal and to travel around" Questioned Killua.

Black haired girl nodded her head gently as she started to rummage through Kurapika's bag again looking for something. "I'm not really interested in finding who my parents are, I just want to know want to know what happened back then. It's not a very pressing matter and I can look into it any time I want but I'm happy with my life right now. I have great friends and Kurapika who's like my big brother" Phoenix spoke in a fond tone.

Finally finding what she was looking for Phoenix pulled out a pair of black baggy pants and a loose purple t-shirt. Standing up holding the bag Phoenix moved as quietly as possible towards where the blonde was sleeping to give bag back. Creeping back to Killua she smiled sweetly, "I'm going to take a bath" She whispered moving to the door next to the bookcase as Killua nodded laying back down but not going to sleep.

The bathroom was very simple and a little on the small side. There was a bath shower the length of the room at the end of the room with a curtain for some privacy. Next to the tub was the toilet against the right wall and on the left of the toilet was a wide counter with a build in sink and cabinets underneath. There was a medium sized mirror over the sink and lights on the walls either side of the glass. There was also a small washing machine and dryer in the corner right by the door. On the left side of the room were a few simple towel racks.

Placing her clothes onto the counter on the side the bath was closes to before turning back and locking the door. Taking a few steps to the counter she carefully crouched down being careful of her injuries as she pulled out two fluffy white towels, placing them on the closed toilet seat.

Going over to the bath she bath she turned the taps on, after making sure she had the water at the right temperature she left it to fill while she undressed.

Just as she put her dirty clothes into a pile on the side of the sink the water in the bath reached the perfect amount. Quickly turning off the water she made sure that she had everything she need. The hygiene things she had found in the cabinet under the sink when she was looking for some towels.

Getting in and pulling the curtains closed she couldn't hold back the sigh of contentment. Once she had finished up washing her hair and body she refilling the bath with clean water and sat there in the warm water mediating.

Once she was finished her mediating, clean and smelling like vanilla she got out, draining the bath at the same time. Wrapping the towels around her, one for her hair and the other for her body, she quickly dried off.

Once she was satisfied she quickly pulled on a fresh pair underwear and bra before slipping on the loose purple t-shirt and the baggy pants that ended halfway down her calf and tightened at the end like a genies.

Deciding to leave her hair down, she towel dried it until it was just damp before she ran her fingers through it detangling it. She scoped up her dirty clothes and put them into the washer before hanging up her towels and leaving the bathroom.

Coming back into the main room where the lights had been turned on she noticed everyone was awake and having breakfast.

"Good morning" Phoenix said quietly as she made her way over to the table, sitting down in between Killua and Kurapika noticing that everyone but those two were staring at her, "What?" She asked self-conscious.

It was Gon who answered, "Who are you?" He asked innocently.

Kurapika and Killua who were both taking a bite of their food chocked as Phoenix who had just grabbed her chopsticks drop the sticks.

"W-what?" The three stuttered bewildered, "It's me, Phoenix" Phoenix added in disbelief, ' _how can he, Leorio and Mr Box Nose not know who she was?'_ Phoenix thought to herself.

Leorio pointed his chopsticks at her incredulity, "There's no way you're that shrimp" He yelled.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow at him confused, "Shrimp?" She questioned confused.

"Wow! Phoenix you looked really pretty with her hair down" Gon exclaimed in a happy tone.

Kurapika chucked as Phoenix this time chocked on her food with Killua snickering discreetly.

"D-don't just randomly say that Gon! It's embarrassing!" Phoenix muttered once her airways were clear again.

Gon just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Leorio turned back to his breakfast numb in shock.

"How are you feeling this morning Phoenix?" Kurapika asked worriedly as he eyed the bruise on her neck.

Rubbing her throat softly, "It doesn't hurt very much and after that bath just now really helped my tight and sore muscles, so I guess I'm better. It's easier to move today" The black haired girl told him honestly and loud enough for Leorio to hear since he was the one to take care of her wounds which she quickly thanked him for only to be waved away.

Later on everyone was bored. Kurapika was reading through book after book in rapid success, Leorio was taking a nap, Tonpa was clipping his toe nails and the three youngest teens were sitting on the couch they slept on.

Killua was sitting on the right cushion with Gon on the left and Phoenix in the middle. The sapphire eyed boy was examining the hook on Gon's fishing rod, "Oh, I thought you just had to stick bait on a hook, and you could fish" Killua commented as Gon explained to the two how to fish.

The black haired boy nodded in agreement to some of Killua's statement, "You have to think like a fish" Gon said to Killua like it was obvious.

"Think like a fish?" Phoenix quietly echoed.

"Yep! How would a fish feel if it saw bait dangling in front of it? Give it here" Gon said as he held his hand out for the hook which Killua quickly gave to him.

Lining it up with a look of deep concentration Gon focused on what he wanted to catch in their small room with Killua and Phoenix watching next to him. After a few seconds he whipped his rod forward gently, letting go of the hook so it flew across the room into an empty mug next to Tonpa making him jump slightly.

Phoenix gasp in surprised at Gon's skill, "Wow!" Killua exclaimed in amazement, "Let me try!" Killua asked in excitement.

Once Gon had given him the rod the white haired boy took the same deep concentration look that had Gon before letting the rod fly to the other side of the room onto the couch Leorio was napping on. The hook landed on the other side of his foot.

Phoenix and Gon giggled, "You missed!" Gon laughed lightly.

"Just watch!" Killua said smiling as he pulled the rod snagging the bottom of Leorio's pants waking him up as his leg jerked towards the three from Killua's tugging.

"H-hey… What are you doing?" Leorio asked both confused, annoyed and half asleep. He reached down as he was half off the couch and tried to unsnag the hook from his pants.

"Just as planned" Killua shouted proudly.

"Nice!" Gon compliment as Phoenix laughed in between them.

"Hey, you'll tear my pants. Stop it" Leorio demanded just as he unsnagged himself.

"See? I caught him" Killua joked with his two friends nodding in agreement.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Leorio shouted standing up, "I'm a fish now?"

Killua looked at Leorio pouting slightly, "You don't have to get mad. It's not like I'm gonna grill and eat you" Killua told him mockingly.

"Don't mess with me, fool!" Leorio yelled back, "Man, I can't even take a nap" He muttered to himself sitting back down after talking or more like accusing My Box Nose of something.

The next day with only 17 hours more hours left in the room everyone was trying to entertain themselves having nothing else to do.

Killua and Gon were having another pillow fight, Leorio and Tonpa were trying to kill each other with their smelly feet it looked like, Kurapika was reading again and Phoenix was leaning on his side reading along with him.

12 hours to go. Two of the youngest and oldest teens were working out. Gon was going handstand push ups with Killua on their couch and Leorio was doing squats. Phoenix practically demanded that they take a shower straight away afterwards from her spot next to Kurapika, not wanting to deal with three smelly boys in one small room. Tonpa was just sitting there.

8 hours left and it was lunch where a food fight broke out.

At 6 hours left Kurapika had read through roughly 20 books while they had been stuck in there and Phoenix had read 2 books with him before getting her own, not finding the next book he read all that interesting. Even Leorio had started to read but he just got out a medical book from his briefcase.

3 hours left and Killua and Gon were playing a little hand game. It was Killua's turn, he caught Gon's hand has it came down before flicking him in the forehead making Phoenix laugh at the face he made.

There was only an hour left now and everyone was getting anxious to get out of the room starting to feel claustrophobic.

"One more hour…" Leorio commented before sighing.

At that moment Phoenix remember something and sweat dropped at having forgotten it, "Um" She started loud enough for everyone to hear, she continued once she had all their attention, "Why are we even in here?" She asked cautiously.

The boys just stared at her dumbfounded, "You only just asked that?" Killua asked loudly in a mocking tone making Phoenix pout a little as she nodded. Seeing her pout brought a small rush of warmness to Killua's cheek as he laughed to cover it up.

Kurapika put a hand on her head and patted her hair that had been tied back up in its usual bun and her normal outfit back on nice and clean, "In Leorio's match he gambled 50 of our hours in a betting game with his opponent" The blonde explained for the younger girl.

Phoenix nodded as she turned to Leorio who was looking away ashamed, "I see" Was all she said before she went back to her book as everyone went back to going whatever they were doing.

Finally it was time to leave, the group gathered around the door waiting for it to open and grant them freedom. Gon was stretching and Phoenix just knew that as soon as the door opened that he would be the first to run out.

The black haired girl was proven right as the black haired boy ran out immediately once the door was open and before anyone else had moved.

"Ah! Wait up, Gon" Leorio yelled after him as the five left behind ran to catch up.

Panting the six stared at the platform where the five boys had their matches against the prisoners and Phoenix had half of hers. They were running around in circles.

"Thirty minutes of running, just to end up where we started" Leorio complained irritated.

"We should have taken those stairs down" Killua threw in disinterested.

"SHUT UP!" Leorio shouted in Killua's ear as Kurapika looked over surprised by the sudden loud yelling, "We all agree on this route!"

Ignoring him the six continued onward. They had to go down a track in a cart. Go through something similar to the eel and tile room as Phoenix but with glowing tiles that fell a deep dark hole that they couldn't see the bottom of. Then they had to run away from a giant rolling boulder so they didn't get flattened.

Once they were safe from the rolling boulder Phoenix sighed in relief but looked down at her clothes that were once again covered in dust in distain.

"Man, I'm covered in dust" The white haired boy complained with Phoenix humming her agreement.

Leorio quickly look at his watch in slight panic, "H-hurry up" He demanded still slightly out of breath, "We only have an hour left" Moving on they quickly found themselves before another choice, "We're supposed to vote on whether to open the door?" Leorio asked a little confused about the simple obvious question, "We need to move on. So obviously, we want to open the door"

The six quickly voted and the results came up as 5 to go through and 1 to stay. Phoenix ignored it seeing as they could still go through and was about to open the door with Gon and Killua when Leorio grabbed Mr. Box Nose by the front.

"I've had enough of your crap!" The glasses wearing teen said lowly.

"Wait, I pressed O" Mr. Box Nose was quick to correct him.

"Don't lie!" Leorio was getting more annoyed, "You specialize in ruining other people's chances!"

' _I knew he couldn't be trusted'_ Phoenix thought to herself as she remember the funky juice he had giving them at the start of the exam.

"Sorry Leorio" Gon suddenly spoke up from behind the tall teen, "I accidentally pressed the wrong button" Gon said looking like a kicked puppy with honest eyes that made Phoenix want to squish his cheeks together.

Leorio calmed down a little and let Mr. Box Nose go, "oh, I see" He whispered stepping away from the fat man.

"Wait!" Mr. Box Nose demanded, "You owe me an apology"

Killua and Phoenix looked at each other before rolling their eyes before the two moved off to the next room. The room was full of weapons with two doors and the top half of a women's body that was made out of metal between them close to the ceiling and over a sign.

"What a weird room" Killua stated looking around the room.

Phoenix nodded as she picked up a rather beautiful sheathed dagger. The handle was a silver dragon with rubies for its eyes. The dragon was poised in a fire breathing position and as she unsheathed the small blade she noticed that the fire the dragon was breathing was carved into the actual blade. The blade itself looked rather shape and curved upward near the point. The side that wasn't curved had spikes like that on a dragon's spine starting halfway and going towards the handle. The sharp side had a few spikes near the handle as well.

The sheath for the dagger was interesting, it was black and designed to look like it was on fire.

Deciding to keep the blade, bending down with ease now that she was all healed up she slipped the dagger into her right boot and clipped it to the top so she can easily grab it and it doesn't slip down.

Standing up just as everyone came into the room, Killua must have called everyone once he looked around the room for a couple seconds, Phoenix moved to stand next to Kurapika and see what they had to do for this choice.

"Let's see" Killua started, "This will be the last decision made by majority rules. Are you ready? Chose O or X" The sapphire eyed boy read out, "That's it"

"Am I ready?" Leorio asked rhetorically, "You bet" The six clicked their answer and it came up as 5 O and 1 X again, it seemed that Leorio was the only one who gave a damn as he rounded on Tonpa, "Bastard…" He stared as Mr. Box Nose just looked away.

"Stop!" Kurapika commandeered not wanting to waste time on something so stupid, "We don't have time to argue about this!"

There was a beeping noise coming from the metal women that made everyone look up at her, "Please select a path" Lippo's voice came out, "There are two choices. One path allows six to pass, but it's long and difficult. The other path allows only four, but is short and easy. Incidentally, the long and difficult path requires a minimum of forty-five hours. The short and easy path leads to the goal in approximately three minutes. Press O for the long and difficult path, and X for the short and easy path. If X is selected, two people must be secured to the wall with handcuffs, before the door will open. The chained members will be unable to move until the time limit expires" Lippo finished his long explanation.

"The examiners were very prepared. I think there's every weapon under the sun here" Killua suggested the group.

"Two out of six" Kurapika spoke quietly, "So we're supposed to fight, to decide the four who pass?" The blonde asked everyone.

"Let me make this clear!" Leorio declared to everyone, "I'm going to press X. But I have no intention of staying behind" Kurapika, Killua and Phoenix were all looking at Leorio in the corner of their eyes with slight glares, "I'll do whatever it takes to be one of the three…"

Before anyone else could say anything Mr. Box Nose piped up, "You're shameless" He said gaining the three glaring teens attention, "Had you not wasted fifty hours we could have taken the long path. Shouldn't you take responsibility and stay behind?"

"What?!" Leorio demanded sharply.

"I'm sure everyone else agrees!" Mr. Box Nose told the angry teen. It was at that moment Phoenix knew that the fat man was trying to turn everyone onto each other and narrowed her eyes at him, "Have I said anything inaccurate?"

The black haired girl looked away as she looked around the room for anything that could help while the white haired and blonde glared slightly at Mr. Box Nose.

"Hold on" Gon called out to everyone, "I'm going to press O. We made it all the way here together. I want us all to pass together"

"Gon" Kurapika started turned to the blacked hair boy slightly.

"Even if it's a risk," Gon continued interrupting the blonde knowing what he was going to say, "I want to give it a shot!"

It was Killua who answered him, "Come on… You can't really call this a risk. We have less than an hour" The sapphire eyes boy said holding up his watch to help his point, there was a moment of silence before Killua turned to Gon completely serious, "Gon, there's only one choice if you want to pass this exam"

"There you have it" Leorio pointed out.

"Now we have to decide how to choose which four pass. Well I'm planning on three of them being you, Phoenix and me" Killua told everyone but mostly Gon honestly. Phoenix's eyes widened slightly at Killua's announcement.

Everyone was silent until Gon turned to the only one who hadn't spoken yet, "What do you think Phoenix?" He asked curiously.

As everyone looked at the toxic green eyed girl, said girl crossed her arms, closed her eyes and looked up at the ceiling with furrowed brows. She didn't say anything for a moment before she opened her eyes and looked at Gon more serious than he had ever seen her. Her eyes weren't as bright as they usually were and they had lost their playful twinkle that was usually there. "The way I see it we have more than two options really. We could all stay here trying to kill each other, go down the long path and fail, or look for anoth-" Before she could finished she quickly jumped back just missed being chopped down the middle by Tonpa using an axe.

The other four boys gasp in astonishment, "Tonpa that was dirty!" Leorio yelled at the fat man as Kurapika took out his wooden swords about to jump in and help Phoenix just as said girl jumped up and just the wall as a spring board to jump over Tonpa.

"In a fight, there's no such thing as dirty!" Tonpa yelled out as he lung at not Phoenix but Leorio this time letting the young girl breath.

"Stop this you two!" Kurapika yelled at the two as Leorio grabbed a weapon off the wall.

"Come on… Let's do it together" Gon pleaded with everyone as he went over to Phoenix to see if she was okay. Nodding her head Phoenix turned back to the two fighting men and noticed that Killua was getting tense and looked really to attack at any moment.

"Before we start fighting, we have to choose O or X!" Leorio tried to reasons with the fat man.

"It's too late for that!" Tonpa yelled as his axe got stuck in the wall and made a large hole.

Gon and Phoenix looked at the hole for a few seconds before Gon turned to Phoenix determined, "What other options do we have Phoenix?" He asked rather quickly.

Phoenix looked at him and knew instantly what he was getting at, "Our other option is to find another way. Hunters are supposed to be good problem solvers so we could try and find another way with what we have here" Phoenix explained to him just as quickly.

Gon nodded with his eyes lighting up, "Or we could make another way!" Gon quickly told her his plan and she nodded in agreement.

The two backed up and grabbed a weapon each, Phoenix grabbed a giant heavy hammer that she was thankfully able to lift as Gon grabbed another axe.

Moving quickly Phoenix got close to Tonpa and Leorio and just as their weapons were about to clash again she brought the heavy hammer down onto the two weapons. There was a loud crash as the two male's weapons got stuck in the ground, Phoenix's hammer holding them in place.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the girl who was glaring at the two who were fighting with an icy glare that sent shivers down their spines and made them step away not used to seeing the sweet kind girl looked so scary.

Killua's eyes widened at what he thought he saw appear above her for a second before it was gone, _'What the hell? Was that a dragon?'_ Killua though frantically to himself internally as Phoenix stood up and but not letting go of the hammer.

Kurapika just sighed in relief that everyone had stopped fighting, "Everyone Gon has an idea!" Phoenix told everyone sharply in her quiet voice that seemed to echo in the silent still room.

As one they turned to Gon waiting for him to explain, "Everyone press O, trust me" Gon said quickly as it looked like Leorio was about to start protesting.

The five did as they were told and waited for further instructions as Phoenix swung the hammer to rest on her shoulder. The door opened for them but no one made to go through just yet.

"Grab a weapon, we're going to break into the short and easy path!" Gon told everyone as he and Phoenix moved into the long and difficult path and started to hit away at the wall.

The other followed and joined in, it wasn't long before the wall broke apart and they could all fit in one at a time.

Gon turned to Phoenix, "Lady's first" He said politely remembering Mito-san's lessons about manners.

Phoenix looked at Gon with the playful twinkle back in her eyes and she gave him a small amused smile. Climbing into the short and easy path was simple until she slipped and was moving downward on a slope quite fast. All the boys jumped as the only girl gave a scream of shock before she disappeared.

Before anyone could move Killua quickly made his way into the short and easy path hoping to help Phoenix with whatever happened only to join her sliding downward.

Kurapika was next then Gon, Leorio and Tonpa. It didn't take the five that long to join Phoenix at the bottom who was sitting on her knees rubbing her butt, "That hurt" She moaned in pain.

Killua was also rubbing his own butt nodded before the six made their way to the door that was opening in front of them. Phoenix entered through the door first being quickly followed by Killua, Kurapika and Gon.

"Phoenix, applicant #402, is the twentieth to pass. Kurapika, applicant #404, is the twenty-first to pass. Killua, applicant #99, is the twenty-second to pass. Gon, applicant #405, is the twenty-third to pass" Someone announced to everyone.

"My butt hurts" Killua was quick to complain, "I didn't expect a slide for the short and easy path"

"Thirty seconds left" The announcer told everyone.

"That was really close" Gon said looking at his three friends that were with him.

Kurapika looked at his dirty hands and nodded in agreement, "My hands are covered with blisters"

Phoenix giggled as she looked around the room. Locking eyes with Hisoka the two shared a secret smile before she turned to look at Leorio and Mr. Box Nose fighting to get through to the door first. Leorio was the winner.

"Leorio, applicant #403, is the twenty-fourth to pass. Tonpa, applicant #16, is the twenty-fifth to pass" The announcer told everyone, "Total time, seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes"

Once the two were through the door Leorio showed them his hands, "My hands are blistered, but all six of us cleared the tower together. All thank to Gon" Leorio said ruffling Gon's hair.

Gon sheepishly rubbed her head before turning to Phoenix, "Actually Phoenix was the one who gave me the idea. She said that we could find another way with what we had and I thought that we could make our own way" Phoenix only blushed slightly and turned away from the praise he was giving her make her four friends' chuckle at the shy girl.

"We entered the long and difficult path. Then cut a hole in the wall, to sneak into the short and easy path" Kurapika summarized.

"Man, I can't believe you two actually came up with that idea on the spot" Leorio praised.

"I realized that we could break the walls, using the weapons and Phoenix's idea of finding another way really helped. But it took over fifty minutes" Gon told them happily.

' _In an extreme situation, you two were able to calmly evaluate our two options and circumvent them. That's what makes you special Gon! Phoenix!'_ Kurapika thought to himself proudly.

There was a buzzer before anyone else could say anything, "The Third Phase of the exam is over. Twenty-six applicants have passed. One has died" The announcer explained to everyone as a door that leads outside opened, bathing the room in the sun's light and causing most people to squint not used to so much light.

Everyone moved to go outside, eager for the next Phase to begin.

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter done. I hope you like.**

 **A little bit more on Phoenix's past and about she and Kurapika met.**

 **If everyone could vote on the poll I currently have on my profile page I would be very grateful.**

 **Answer from last chapter: Out of the adult trio (Hisoka, Illumi, Chrollo) it would have to be a tie between Hisoka and Chrollo. I like both of their characters and how different they are but can't chose which I prefer.**

 **Question of the chapter: Who would you want to teach you** ** _Nen?_**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter, love you guys. Bye :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

Twenty-six applicant's passed the Third Phase and were waiting outside Trick Tower to find out what they were to do for the Fourth Phase.

Standing in front of everyone was a short man with a purple Mohawk, he had with wire glasses. He was holding his hands behind his back. Phoenix wondered if this was the judge for the Fourth Phase.

"Ladies and gentlemen congratulations on having escaped Trick Tower" The purple haired man began addressing everyone, "Only the Fourth Phase and the Final Phase remain"

"Two more…" Hanzo echoed.

The purple haired man pointed behind him at an island that they could see in the distance, "The Fourth Phase will take place over there, on Zevil Island. Let us procced" He said before snapping his fingers and another man came over with a box on a small table with wheels "I will need you to draw lots"

This caused everyone to start muttering to themselves "Lots?" A few asked.

The purple haired man just smirked devilishly to them all, "To determine who will hunt and who will be hunted. In here are twenty-six numbered cards" He spoke loudly as he gestured to the box next to him, "In other words, your ID numbers are on the cards. Now I need each to draw a card, in the order by which you exited the tower. Will the first person come forward?" He asked.

As he finished talking Hisoka was the one to step forward to get his card. ' _It's not that surprising…'_ Phoenix thought to herself at peoples shocked faces. Looking closer at the pink haired clown the black haired girl noticed the cut on his waist and the one on his shoulder that had dried blood on the tear.

Once he had chosen his card the next person went to get theirs, which was the guy with a bunch of needles in his face. It went the same until it was Phoenix's turn, going up she stuck her hand in and picked one of the last few cards left before pulling it out. It was blank on one side and red on the other. Shrugging the black haired girl gave her small sweet smile to the two men before going to re-join her friends again.

As Kurapika was going to get his card Gon turned to Killua just as Phoenix came to stand on the white haired boy's right side, "Hey Killua," The puppy like teen started to his friend, "He said something about hunting and being hunted. Does that mean we'll be fighting each other?" He asked innocently.

Killua smirked a little as he turned back to the front "Yeah, probably" He declared confidently before going to get his card while whistling a low tone.

"What do you think Phoenix?" Gon asked the young girl.

"Since he said something about ID numbers then it has to do with our badges" Phoenix hypothesised.

The boy hummed in thought before going to go get his card just as Killua joined them balancing his card on his finger.

"Show off" Phoenix whispered to him playfully. Killua just gave her a cat like grin.

Once every had a card the purple haired man called for everyone's attention again, "Everyone's taken a card?" He asked, "Then, remove the seal for your card" Everyone did just that, Phoenix got #89, she had no idea who that was, "The card indicates your target" The man continued. At that statement almost every quickly hid their badges, Phoenix wasn't one of them. "This box has recorded which card each of your drew. This means you're free to dispose of the cards if you wish. The objective is to steal your target's ID tag" He said imitating a few people.

"Oh, so we don't need to kill each other" One of the three brothers that wore a blue sweater asked with a little relief in his voice.

"Naturally, you're free to use any method you choose to steal the ID tags. Including killing your target and taking the tag off the corpse" The examiner told that them all as if talking about the weather making Phoenix quirk an eyebrow.

"That sounds like the fastest way" The maroon sweater brother said cockily.

"S-so that's what this is about?" The blue sweater brother asked nervous this time.

"Fool, there's nothing to be scared of" The yellow sweater brother told the obviously younger one as he elbowed his side.

The examiner raised an arm in the air to get everyone's attention again "Listen carefully! Your target's ID tag is worth three points. Your own ID is also worth three points. All other tags are worth one point. You need six points to advance to the Final Phase. So while on Zevil Island, you must gather enough ID tags to total six points. That is the condition for the clearing the Hunter Exam's Fourth Phase" Once he had finished explaining what they had to do a medium sized boat arrived and every got on board and gathered on the deck in front of a women with short orange hair and a headset on.

"I'd like to commend everyone on board for their excellent work during the Third Phase!" The orange haired women praised everyone is a giddy annoying voice, "I will serve as your guide. My name is Khara! It will take two hours for this boat to reach Zevil Island. All twenty-six applicants remaining here are automatically qualified to take next year's exam! So if you fail this year, don't feel bad. Please try again next year…" Khara finally started to trail off as she noticed the tension that hung heavily in the air.

Phoenix who was sitting with Kurapika and Leorio against the side of the boat giggled quietly to herself at their guide's awkward departure once she told them they could do whatever they want for the next two hours.

"The battle had already begun" Kurapika commented quietly to the two with him.

"Yeah, everyone's removed their ID tags, and hid them" Leorio agreed with the blonde before looked at the young girl with them, "Why didn't you hid your tag Shrimp?" Leorio asked curiously.

Phoenix looked at him still a little confused about where that nickname even came from but chose to let it slide, "I'm using it for bait" She said with an innocent smile.

"Bait?" The two asked together but Kurapika thought he might know what she was talking about.

The toxic green eyed girl nodded, "Yep! Most people will see me as a weak little girl and thus an easy target. It'll lure people to me so I won't need to find them. If their too strong for me I'll simply run away but if I can take them then I only need to get their badges and they'll add up quickly this way" She explained to the two boys.

The two older teens nodded before the three went quiet for a bit. Leorio kept looking at the two close friends out the corner of his eye, "Speaking hypothetically…. If you happened to be my target, I wouldn't show any mercy" Leorio decided to throw out there.

Kurapika didn't look the least bit worried while Phoenix just shrugged not really caring, "Naturally" Kurapika said rather loudly, "If you happen to be my target, it would be the same" He said seriously making Leorio freak out a little.

"Am I your target?" Leorio demanded.

"I was speaking hypothetically" Kurapika answered relaxed.

"Oh right…" Leorio relaxed but still a little suspicious.

"Don't worry" Kurapika told him amused, "You are not my target" Phoenix nodded her agreement with the blond making the oldest teen relax completely.

"I-I see" He mumbled, "And you two aren't my target either!" He called out to them as they stood up and moved away.

Once the two close friends found a place that no one was around, the blonde leaning his elbows on the railing as the younger teen jumped onto the railing and sat with her legs dangling over the side, swinging them back and forth.

The two didn't say anything just enjoyed each other presence not being able to since the exam began.

"I told Killua" Phoenix said breaking the silence between them. When Kurapika looked at her she elaborated, "About not knowing my parents"

The blonde hummed thoughtfully, "I was wondering if you were going to tell them. You still don't want to know who they are?" he asked gently.

Phoenix didn't need to think about it as she shook her head, "Nah, I don't need to know. Besides I have you don't I? You my best friend, big brother and kind of like a dad to me" The toxic green eyed teen told him honestly giving him a wide grin that she only saves for moments like these.

Kurapika looked at her a little shocked, sure she had told him before she sees him as a big brother but next like a parent, "Nix" He mumbled.

Phoenix only smiled at him before turning back to the gently waves, "Its true… you found me when I need someone and you even named me too. You took care of me when no one else wanted me or even gave me a second look"

* * *

" _Hey you okay?" A young twelve year old boy asked kneeling in front of a small black haired eight year old in an alleyway of a big city._

 _The young girl lifted her head up and looked into the young boy's grey eyes with her unique toxic green eyes. The young girl was wearing a dirty light blue top that was too big for here and had rips in a few places. Her shorts were no better._

 _The blonde boy held out his hand to the young girl, "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up" He smiled kindly trying to encourage the girl._

 _The dirty girl looked at him with wide eyes that swam with emotion; fear, shock, curiosity, hope and so much loneliness that it hurt. The young girl looked at his hand before hold her hand up and looked at before looking at his hand and slowly but surely placed her hand in his._

 _The warm hand enclosed her small cold one as the boy smile brightly down at her and she soon found herself smiling back, "My name's Kurapika"_

* * *

Smiling at the memory Kurapika put his hand out to Phoenix who looked down at the hand remember when she first met the blonde next to her.

She couldn't help but smile as she put her hand into his and just like four years ago her hand was quickly enclosed by Kurapika's.

"I'm much too young to have such an amazing daughter" Kurapika told her proudly.

Phoenix giggled happily as she let go of Kurapika's hand to grab the railing as she swung her legs higher.

The two spent the rest of the two hours talking and laughing with each other. Phoenix was so happy to have someone like Kurapika in her life and she knew that she'd do anything for the blonde if it meant he was happy.

It wasn't long before everyone was called back to the deck to start the Fourth Phase. Everyone crowded around Khara as they arrived at the Island and a plank was set up so they could get from the boat and onto the Island.

"Thanks for your patience, everyone" Khara thanked, "We've finally arrived at Zevil Island! Now, please disembark in the order by which you cleared the Third Phase. After each person disembarks, we'll wait two minutes before the next person's turn" Khara explained.

"That means we'll be waiting here a while" Killua pointed out with Gon and Phoenix nodding in agreement. Once everyone had gather on deck again Phoenix had joined her two friends.

"You will stay on this Island for exactly one week. During that time, you must amass your six points of ID tags and return here. All right then, the first person may start!" She yelled out in excitement as Hisoka moved forward and disembarked.

It was quite a while before Phoenix was told she could start, it was only her friends and Mr. Box Nose left.

"See you all in a week" She said giving her friends a sweet smile as she disembark with calls of good luck.

Walking calmly through the forest Phoenix hummed lightly to herself to help entertain herself. She had been on the island for a good half hour now, just as she was wondering if her bait plan would work there was what she thought was a war cry from behind her.

Moving the side quickly Phoenix noticed that it was her target. Getting behind the tall man with dark blue-grey hair she used the side of her hand to give a swift and hard chop to the back of his neck as he stumbled from her fast dodge.

Her target fell to the group out completely cold, Phoenix could only deadpan and sweat drop at how easy that was. Sighing to girl bent down and started to check the tall man's pockets for his ID tag. Finding it in his front right pocket Phoenix stood up and pinned the badge to the right of her own so it sat in the middle of her chest.

Feeling a little cheeky she turned her head and winked at the person she knew was watching her. There was a quiet chuckle that sounded familiar as she walked away after she tired her target to a tree with one of the vines that were hanging from the trees in this part of the forest.

"That was boring. Maybe I should have dragged that out a little" Phoenix mutter to herself as she walked through the trees.

By the time the sun had set Phoenix believe that she had gotten to the middle of the island. Wanting to rest for the night she quickly widened her sense to see if she could detect any people nearby. Only feeling the person that has been following her since she stepped foot on the island and chuckled when she winked at them she deemed herself safe for now.

Going up to the tallest tree around she quickly climbed it without looking down and sat herself on a branch that was covered in foliage that will work as cover while she slept.

Not feeling like sleeping just yet she watched as the sun disappeared over the horizon and the stars start to light up the sky.

Entertaining herself with finding the constellations as she started to fall asleep she made sure that her guard was up so she would wake up and be able to move at a seconds notice.

It was around midmorning when Phoenix woke up the next day. Quickly checking her badges she was happy to see that she still had both pinned to her chest.

The climb down was more difficult than climbing up, as she had to keep looking down to see if was getting down safely.

Once she was down she crouched as she took a few deep breaths, calming her nerves before standing up and making her way to a stream that was close by. Washing her face with the cold helped get rid of any leftover tiredness.

After taking a few mouthfuls of water Phoenix set off again, hopefully to find one of her friends so she wasn't bored for the rest of the week. Thinking back to yesterday Phoenix sweat dropped again at how easy and quickly she had gotten her targets ID.

It wasn't until around noon on the third day that she found anybody. Thankfully for her it was one of her friends. Spotting a flash of a head covered in white fluffy hair make Phoenix's head quickly turn in the direction it came from.

It turns out Killua was in the same dark area she was in. Jogging over closer, making sure that her footsteps could be heard, Phoenix made her way over to Killua.

Killua having heard someone coming turned his head with curiosity, knowing that if it was someone attacking him then they wouldn't be so loud. A grin broke across his face as he saw Phoenix who was waving her arm above her head calling out to him.

"Phoenix!" Killua happily called out to her as he stopped to let her meet up with him before the two continued walking side by side, "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Phoenix giggled at his happiness, "I was just wondering around looking anyone. I already got my ID tag and was rather bored" She told him tapping her target's number.

Killua looked at the badges before looking back at her nodding, "When did you get it?"

Phoenix looked sheepishly as she scratched her cheek, "The first half hour of being on the island…" She trailed off.

Killua chuckled at the girl, "You couldn't have waiting a few days?" He asked jokingly.

"I wasn't expecting him to go down with one hit" Phoenix defended herself feeling heat rush to her cheeks, "What about you? You're getting followed and you're not doing anything"

The amused sapphire eyed boy only shrugged, "I'm waiting for him to attack me" He told her. Phoenix nodded before to two fell into conversation about what had happened the past few days.

It wasn't until another hour that Killua sighed before turning to Phoenix, "Wait here" He told her before turned back the way they came leaving Phoenix confused but she did as she was told and waited.

"You're wasting your time" He called out to the man that was following him, "I'll never give you an opening to attack" When there was no reply Killua sighed again before starting to walk to where the man was, "Man. If you're not gonna show yourself, I'll come to you… What a pain"

Phoenix giggled as she watch from behind him as he muttered to himself. The young girl could sense the man starting to panic before two new presence appeared behind him, it seemed that the guy's brothers came to back him up. Killua obviously saw the brothers too as he stopped and watched what they'd do.

"We ran into some trouble" Maroon sweater brother told the youngest.

"You're done right?" Yellow sweater brother then asked before the two older brothers noticed Killua and Phoenix a little ways behind him.

The two oldest brothers walked up to the youngest before beating him around. Phoenix's eyes widened at the sight of the way the two treated the youngest.

"You idiot!" The maroon sweater yelled as he kicked his brother into yellow sweater.

"You can't even beat a little kid?" The yellow sweater somewhat scolded as he punched his brother away.

"Y-you got it wrong! Amo!" The youngest tried to defend.

"What do I have wrong?" The maroon sweater or Amo asked angrily.

"I-I didn't want to hurt a little kid. So I figured I'd take it while he slept" The blue sweater told them trying to sound confident.

"You're lying through your teeth!" Yellow sweater accused.

"F-fine! If you insist, that leaves me no choice. Time for a beat down" The youngest said trying to intimidate Killua, not that is did much for the ex-assassin.

The blue sweater started to stalk towards Killua who just stood there bored. Once he was close to the young teen he put his hands on his hips and leered down at Killua, "Hey, kid. Just give me your tag. Do as I say and I won't hurt you and your little girlfriend" He threatened.

Killua fought to keep both the blush off his cheeks and his face bored and was winning but Phoenix wasn't doing a very good job and covered her cheeks with her hands, "Stupid" Killua said simply in a bored tone before he was kicked away, right in the middle of his stomach.

The white haired boy flew back before skidding across the ground a few meters, his skateboard rolled over to Phoenix's feet where she picked it up for her friend.

"Aw don't say I didn't warn you. Right in the gut" The blue sweater mocked.

"Must hurt like a bitch" Yellow sweater threw in.

All Killua did was flipped back onto his feet surprising the three brothers and caused Phoenix to smile slightly and move back a bit more so she wasn't in the way.

"What? Did you go easy on him?" Amo asked.

"You're too nice, Imori" The only unnamed brother commented.

"Y-yeah" Imori said in agreement not knowing what else to say.

Killua ignored them as he rummaged through his pocket before pulling out an ID tag with the number 198 on it, "#198, huh?" The sapphire eyed boy said loud enough for the three brothers to hear him and become serious, "Since it's only a number off from the one I'm after, maybe #199 is one of your two buddies?" Killua asked rhetorically.

"Umori" Amo said quietly, "Get in formation. Time to get serious. This is no ordinary kid and I'm betting his girlfriend isn't either"

Umori and Imori quickly moved to the side to box Killua in, ignoring Phoenix for the moment. Just as the three were about to attack Killua suddenly vanished but he just jumped really fast and landed behind Amo. The white haired boy kicked the oldest brother in the back of the knee forcing him onto his knees grabbed his left shoulder and put his sharpened fingernails to the side of the man's throat.

"Don't move!" The boy warned all the three brothers, "My fingers are sharper than knives" As he said this a small trickle of blood ran down the man's neck, freaking the man out even more then he was before.

Killua quickly searched his hostage and stole his tag, "Huh? You're #197? I'm so bad at guessing these things…" He said to himself for turning to Umori "Hey. Are you #199?" Killua asked and continued when his question was conformed, "Hand it over! Thank you" He said once he had hold of the tag Umori threw to him. "Now for the tags I don't need" Letting go of Amo Killua threw one of the tags to the left of them all before turning and throwing the other in the opposite direction. "You still have three days" Killua told them cheerfully now standing where Phoenix was with said girl in his arms bridal style, "Good luck finding them. See ya" Before the two disappeared.

Killua was running through the tree tops with a light blush on his cheeks while the girl in his arms was cheery red. Once they were far enough away the white haired boy jumped down near a small stream with a waterfall and lightly set the toxic green eyed girl on her feet.

"Thanks" She whispered as she took a few steps back getting her bearings back.

"No problem" Killua muttered back, redder then before now that he thought about what he had just done.

Once the two were back to normal they decided to stick together for the rest of the Phase. Killua went to gather firewood and Phoenix too off her shoes, socks and leg warmer before unclipping the dagger that she took from the Third Phase and walked into the stream.

Using her new dagger Phoenix caught a few fish for their dinner and turned back to Killua who had already started the fire.

Once the two had finished eating the sun had set and the stars were once again twinkling in the sky.

"You know that bald ninja was there didn't you?" Phoenix asked curiously.

Killua chuckled nodding, "I did, I switched the tags when I threw them. He probably went after the wrong one" Killua told her.

Phoenix looked at him with wide eyes before she threw her head back and let free a laugh that sounded like bells.

Killua looked over at her and studied her face as she laughed. She looked so carefree and happy. He didn't know why but it made him feel warm inside, being the cause of her happiness.

It was finally the last day. Phoenix and Killua was sitting in a tree near the starting point playing rock paper scissors.

"This Phase has been the easiest so far" Phoenix said making light conversation as they played.

Killua hummed thoughtful, "It was the most boring as well. I hope the Finale Phase is good" Killua replied.

"I wonder what the final Phase is" The girl asked curiously.

"Probably a fight or something, maybe a test? Killua shrugged.

Phoenix blinked at his answer but before she could answer Khara's voice was heard all over the island stopping her from answering, "The Fourth Phase of the Exam has just ended. Will the applicants please return to the starting point at once" Khara announced. Killua and Phoenix jumped down from the tree they were in and began walking to the starting point to finally finish, "You will be given one hour of extra time. If you do not return during the time, you will fail the exam. Furthermore, you are not allowed to exchange tags after reaching the starting point. Anyone caught swapping tags will be disqualified"

Reaching the starting point Phoenix noticed straight away that Gon, Kurapika and Leorio weren't here yet and the extra hour was almost finished. Phoenix noticed Killua getting a little nervous at not seeing their friends as well.

Khara came onto the island with a clipboard looking as happy as ever, "Then we will now check the tags of everyone here!" She announced thinking that this was all there was. #44, Hisoka-san, six points. #53, Pokkle-san, six points. #99, Killua-san, six points. #301, Gittarackur-san, six points. #191, Bodoro-san, six points. #294, Hanzo-san six points. #402, Phoenix-san, six points" She wrote down all their scores and the tags they got. "So seven applicants passed?" She asked herself.

Phoenix started to fidget slightly making Killua look over at her with concern. Putting his hand in the middle of her back to help somewhat calm her down, Phoenix smiled at him in thanks and stopped fidgeting.

"Oh?" Khara suddenly said making Killua and Phoenix look up sharply to see the three they were worried about walking out from the trees.

"Gon!" Killua called out happily with his hand still on Phoenix's back unknowingly.

"Kurapika, Leorio!" Phoenix then called out smiling happily at them.

The three smiled brightly after showing Khara their tags. Kurapika and Leorio both noticed that Killua and Phoenix were standing a little closer than normal and where Killua's hand is. Both raised an eyebrow at the two making them confused before they both realised what was happening. The two stepped apart with bright blushes on their faces and turned away from each other, Killua even put his hands in his pockets.

Kurapika and Leorio both chuckled at the embarrassed pair but Kurapika was a little suspicious about what happened between the two. Gon was a little lost but still smile cheekily at the pair.

Now that everyone was accounted for they all climbed up a robe latter that was let down from the airship that was floating about them. Up towards the next and finale phase.

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter today, I hope you like.**

 **A little flashback about the moment Kurapika and Phoenix met.**

 **If everyone could vote on the poll I currently have on my profile page I would be very grateful.**

 **Answer from last chapter:** **I would want either Chairman Netero or Biscuit to teach me** ** _Nen_** **because I feel like Wing holds his students back**

 **Question of the chapter: What's better Gon's** ** _Nen_** **ability or Killuas?**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter, love you guys. Bye**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

Staring out the window, standing in between Gon and Kurapika with Leorio on the blondes' other side with his back to the window, the four stood in silence as the airship moved through the air toward the Final Phase of the Hunter Exam.

' _I wonder where Killua is'_ Phoenix thought to herself having noticed that Killua slipped away from the four once they had gotten onto the airship. She knew that Gon has realised but let him go off on his own so she did too and stayed with the three boys she didn't see during the Fourth Phase.

"Pathetic" Leorio broke the silence with his muttering, getting the other three teens attentions, "I need the two of you to do everything for me during the Fourth Phase" He was obviously talking to Kurapika and Gon so Phoenix turned back to the window but kept listening in, "I promise I'll return the favour. So… thanks"

The two boys smiled at Leorio's embarrassment. Phoenix didn't do anything, not knowing what had happened that the bespectacled teen had to be thankful for.

There was a noise that sounded like someone had tapping a microphone echoed through the halls not letting either of the boys' reply, "I have an announcement for all applicants" Beans voice spoke to everyone, "The Chairman wishes to interview the remaining candidates. When your number is called, please come to the first reception room on the second floor. Then we will start with #44, Hisoka-sama" Beans finished.

Out the corner of her eye Phoenix noticed straight away that when Hisoka was called in for his interview that Gon looked down, destressed. Turning her head that she hadn't turned away from the window since Leorio first spoke, she looked at Kurapika watching stare at Gon with concern out the corner of his eye as well.

Choosing not to question gloomy boy Phoenix sighed as she pushed away from the window she turned to her friends, "What do you think the Chairman wants to know?" She asked them quietly taking the unwanted attention off of Gon.

Leorio shrugged not having an answer, Kurapika looked thoughtful, looking for a logical answer and Gon looked at her gratefully now knowing if she was taking the attention away from him on purpose or not but Phoenix gave him a subtle wink letting him know her motives.

The blond sighed frustrated not having come up with anything himself, "I'm not sure, it could be about anything at his point" He told his close friend before crossing his arms.

Phoenix nodded in acceptance not really expected a definite answer. It wasn't until everyone else had been called in for their interview and she was sitting on the window ledge alone, leaning her back against one of the thin pieces of wall that stuck out supporting the ledge, staring out into the now setting sun that her number was called for.

Finding the room was rather simple. Remembering the manners that Kurapika had drilled into her she knocked and entered when the Chairman called her in.

The room was rather simple. It had a painting on the back wall behind where the Chairman was sitting on a pillow. Another pillow was the opposite side of the table to separate the applicants and the Chairman.

Sitting down cross legged Phoenix only had to wait a few seconds before the Chairman looked up at her, "I'll just be asking a few questions to satisfy my curiosity" Once the young girl nodded her consent he began the interview "First, why do you want to become a Hunter?"

"My main reason for wanting to become a Hunter is because I want to help Kurapika reach his goal. My personal reasons is because I want to travel around new places and hopefully discover unexplored lands" Phoenix paused, hesitating for a second but the Chairman's encouraging nodded and smile pushed her to finish, "I don't remember my past from before I was eight and I'm not really interested in looking into it very thoroughly but I would like to know some of it so I'm looking for answers as well"

The Chairman didn't comment on her reasons and continued with the interview, for that Phoenix was quite grateful, "Which of the other nine applicants are you keeping an eye on?" He asked.

Phoenix thought for a moment, "#99, #403, #404 and #405 because their friends and #44 because he's someone from my past that I would like to remember" The black haired giro told the older man.

"I understand. Now the last question, which of the other nine applicants would you least want to fight?" The Chairman asked curiously. He wondered if she would be like the four boys she is usually with and not want to fight them or anyone.

The toxic green eyed girl didn't miss a beat, "I'll fight anyone" She told the Chairman with a strong voice.

"Hmm, why's that?" He then asked wanting her reason.

"Because this is an exam, if you don't participate then you're disqualified right? And I doubt I would have a say on who I'm going to fight" Phoenix told him honestly and bluntly.

The Chairman chuckled to himself making the young girl in front of him confused and slightly nervous thinking that she said something wrong. Before Phoenix could ask the Chairman spoke first, "You're an interesting young lady. Not many would be willing to fight their friends"

"Well, I used to spar with Kurapika often before the we took the Hunter Exam and it's not like you're asking us to kill our opponent" Phoenix answered him quietly.

"How are you so sure you won't have to kill your opponent?" The Chairman asked inquisitively.

Phoenix looked at the Chairman with a raised eyebrow, "Because you asked us" She said as if it was obviously, seeing that she needed to elaborate she continued, "You asked us who we are looked out for and who we would least want to fight, you never said anything about the fight being a duel just a fight. A duel will nine times out of ten end in death but a fight usually doesn't"

The Chairman started to chuckle to himself again, "I was right, you are an interesting one. I believe that you are the only one who picked up on that" He winked making Phoenix giggled slightly, "That's all the questions for the interview. But wait I would like to asked you something else" The Chairman stopped her as she was about to get up, sitting back Phoenix looked at the older man curiously, wondering what else he would like to know if the interview was over, "That knife you took in the Third Phrase, may I see it?" He asked.

Nodded a little unsurely Phoenix brought her right leg in front of her before unclipping the dagger from her boot and placing it on the table in between them, where the Chairman picked it up as if it was made of thin glass that would shatter if he wasn't carful, "I-I wasn't aware that we couldn't take any of the weapons, Lippo-san never said anything about leaving the weapons in the room once we were finished with them" Phoenix was quick to explain thinking that she was in trouble.

The Chairman didn't say anything for a bit before handing the dagger back to the panicked young girl, much to her confusion, thinking he was taking it back. "I'm not taking your blade my dear, but I do want to know why you took it. Was there a specific reason?" He asked with honest wonder in his eyes.

Phoenix looked down at the dragon dragger in her hand, gripping the handle she slid it out of its sheath halfway and admired the blade for a second before sheathing it quickly and placing it in her lap trying not to look alarmed. "I don't know, I just felt like I should take it with me. I didn't realise it until I used it the Fourth Phase while I was fishing but the blade _feels_ like it's alive somehow. I swear when I unsheathed it there was a voice in my head, it didn't say anything just a faint purred. I thought I imagined it so I just ignored it but when I unsheathed it just now it happened again" Phoenix explained looking up at the Chairman confused.

The Chairman didn't say anything for a moment but stared at Phoenix blankly, the young girl was starting to think that he thought she was crazy, which she might be now that she gave it a thought. "Interesting" He muttered to himself, "I believe you and there is a legend that belongs to that blade, but I won't tell you just yet. Once the Exams are over and you become a Hunter come and see me alright my dear, I'll explain it then" He said smiling kindly to the young girl.

With furrowed eyebrows Phoenix nodded her acceptance as she stood making her way out the corridor again after she bowed and said goodbye. Looking down at the dagger in her hand Phoenix sighed before clipping it back inside her boot and pushed it to the back of her mind so he could stayed focused on the Final Phase.

Back in the room Netero didn't take his eyes off of the door the young girl just left through, _'That girl will be great one day'_ The old man thought to himself before going back to finished the last preparations for the Final Phase.

Wandering around for a while Phoenix was about to round the corner that lead to the corridor that had the windows when she noticed two people standing together watching the sun set just like she had been doing before her interview and confusing conversation with the Chairman.

Ducking back around the corner when she realised that the two people were having a moment. Phoenix peck out to see who the two people were. She was surprised that it was Kurapika and Gon. She was about to sneak away when Kurapika spoke. "Gon…" He sounded rather a serious so Phoenix stayed to listen, "Did something happen during the Fourth Phase? When we met up, you were acting a little strange. And you've been somewhat subdued since we left Zevil Island"

"My target was Hisoka" Gon revealed, from where she was hiding Phoenix's eyes widened as Kurapika stuttered slightly turning to Gon sharply, "I waiting for the perfect chance and stole his tag, but someone was tailing me, and he got me with a poisoned dart. Soon after, Hisoka took back his tag from the person who got me, and he left it with me. He said that I owed him now" Gon explained quietly with a touch of sadness in his voice.

"Hisoka said that?" Kurapika wonder wanting Gon to continue.

"I told him I didn't need his help, and he sent me flying" Here Gon started to tear up, Phoenix felt her heart strings pull at the raw sadness and frustration in her friends voice, "I was so mad that I couldn't do anything against him…" After letting some of his emotions out in silent tears he rubbed them away before looking up at Kurapika, "After that, I was pretty miserable and lonely. I felt so helpless, I wanted company… I wanted to help someone, I guess. That's why I was looking for you two" Gon told him earnestly.

The two were quiet for a moment and Phoenix took that moment to slip away not wanting to know anymore.

Using the corridors Phoenix made her way to the opposite side of the airship before walking along the windows.

Looking in front of her she was a surprised to see Hisoka leaning against the wall looking out to the night sky.

He didn't look over as Phoenix approached but he did look down at her and she leaned against the wall next to him. When she didn't say anything he looked out the window again and the two stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"What are you going to be doing once the Hunter Exams are over?" Phoenix asked as she looked up at the red haired man.

Hisoka smiled down at him before putting his hand on her head, "I'll probably be going to go to heavens arena for a while" He told her as he patted her head for a moment before taking his hand back.

Phoenix hummed in thought before sighing, "I'll be helping Kurapika with his goal" Phoenix told him with a resigned sigh that caught his attention.

"Hmm, you don't sound very excited" Hisoka told her while also ignore the person who was around the corner obviously spying on the two.

Phoenix looked up at him questions, "It's not that, I just don't want to him get hurt is all. His goal is going to be long, hard and very dangerous. I just scared I'll lose him is all" Phoenix told the clown honestly.

Hisoka chuckled, "You've always been so kind towards others" Hisoka told her in a gentle tone.

Phoenix looked down with a small smile on her face, "I'm glad to hear that" She giggled before pushing off the wall, "I'll see you around Hisoka, I'm going to go get some rest so I'm ready for tomorrow" Phoenix told him cheerfully as she started to walk down the corridor to where the rooms for the applicants were located.

Hisoka chuckled before heading to bed as well. Kurapika came around the corner once the two had turned different corners with a deep frown on his face.

* * *

The next day the ten applicants left gathered inside a training hall at the hotel that the airship had arrived at this morning. Phoenix was standing between Kurapika, who had been acting a little strange this morning, he seemed to be observing Phoenix when he thought she wasn't looked and Killua who popped up as they were making their way off the airship.

"Well, gentlemen and lady" Chairman began as he stood in front of the applicants with the other examiners and bunch of people in suits and dark shades, "Did you get plenty of rest? This hotel is owned by the Hunter Exam Selection Committee. The place is all yours until the battles have concluded" As he was talking a suited man wheeled over a board covered by a cloth to place it next to the Chairman, "For the Final Phase, we will be holding a one-on-one tournament"

As he pulled off the cloth he revealed the tournament style but didn't show them who they were fighting against. It was rather simple to work out the way it work, it was a simple tree diagram with all its branches meeting up at the top.

"So only the last person standing passes?" Leorio questioned.

"No. One win is all you need to pass" The Chairman told everyone clearly.

This caused some surprised to run through the ten applicants, "One win?" Gon and Phoenix both asked together, Gon's being the louder one.

"Then, in this tournament…" Leorio trailed off.

"The winners are removed from the competition, while the losers continue up the bracket" The Chairman both explained and finished for Leorio, "In other words, the person who finishes at the top will not pass" He said pointing to the top, "Does everyone understand now?"

"So you're saying that only one person will fail" Hanzo summarized.

"Exactly" He paused before pulling the piece of paper that blocked who was fighting whom as he continued, "And here is the bracket"

It went Phoenix, Hanzo, Gon, Pokkle, Killua, Gittarackur, Bodoro, Kurapika, Hisoka and then Leorio. Phoenix was fighting Hanzo first and whoever lost out of the two was fighting Gon. Kurapika was fighting Hisoka which made Phoenix a little nervous.

' _Am I the only one who thinks this bracket is completely unbalanced and unfair?'_ Phoenix thought to herself incredulous.

"Impressive, right?" The Chairman asked cutting through the tension that build quickly amongst the applicants, "After all, everyone had at least two chances to win"

"But some people, like #294 and #402, get six chances" Pokkle pointed out.

"Why didn't you use a balance bracket?" Bodoro asked.

' _Good, I'm not the only one who noticed'_ Phoenix mentally sighed in relief.

"A question that must be on everyone's mind. This bracket was assembled based on your performances throughout the entire exam. Those who performed better received more chances" The Chairman explained.

Phoenix stiffened at the explanation. She didn't even know that they were getting ranked on their performances, if she knew she would have toned it down a little.

Besides Phoenix Killua started slightly, "That doesn't sound right. Can you explain how you scored our performances?" Killua asked seriously.

There was silence as everyone, even the examiners waiting to hear what the Chairman had to say but they all jumped as he screamed out no while shaking his face with a goofy expression on his face.

If Killua was a cat Phoenix was sure that all his fur would be standing on end because it looked like his hair was right at that moment. "Why not?" Killua screamed back.

The Chairman chuckled good naturally, "Your scored are classified information. So I can't tell you everything. But I can explain our methods. First, we consider three major criteria: physical strength, mental strength and overall impression. For physical strength, we use an aggregate of agility, flexibility, endurance and perception. For mental strength, we use an aggregate of resilience, adaptability, judgement and creativity. However, this information is only used as a reference point. After all, you were strong enough to advance to the Final Phase. However, we are most concerned with your overall impression. This refers to any intangible factors not previously mentioned. You could consider this an evaluation of your potential as a Hunter. And we also incorporate the opinions of your peers. That was our process"

Watching the sapphire eyed boy next to her from the corner of her eye she wondered what was going through his head as he glared at the floor.

"The battle rules are simple," The Chairman started again bring back Phoenix's attention, "Weapons are allowed. No cheating. If your opponent admits defeat, you win. However! If you kill your opponent, you will be immediately disqualified"

' _I knew it'_ Phoenix thought to herself.

"All remaining applicants will pass, and the exam will end. Are we clear?" The old man finished.

"Then, we shall being the exam's Final Phase" One of the suited men called out.

All the applicants and examiners went to stand off to the side but Hanzo and Phoenix moved to the middle of the room. The two stared each other down, Hanzo was cracking is wrist but Phoenix just stood there letting her eyes look over every inch they could of Hanzo's body.

' _Okay, calm down. You've been up against worst"_ She thought back to Hades in Trick Tower, _'From the looks of it he's got quite a lot of physical strength and I remember in the Fourth Phase when Killua threw the badges away that he took off pretty quickly and got out of my radar just a quick, so he's fast and strong. So all I need to do it try to be faster and not get hit'_ Phoenix strategized.

"The first match is Phoenix versus Hanzo" The referee call out, "Please step forward" The two did as they were told and stood closer but never breaking eye contact.

Off to the side Leorio looked over at a worried Kurapika, "Do you think she can win?"

The blonde didn't say anything just watched as Phoenix looked her opponent over as quickly and efficiently as she could. He knew that there were a million things going through her head right now. "I don't know" Kurapika told them and all the other applicants and examiners who were secretly listening "Phoenix is a natural fighter and very strong for a girl her age. She's capable of taking down men three times her age with a few minor injuries so she should be fine" Kurapika tried to reassure everyone as well as himself.

"She'll win" Gon said confidently.

"How do you know?" Killua asked his friend even though he agree completely.

Gon just smiled at him determined, "Because Phoenix is strong and she doesn't give up!"

Killua smiled as he nodded his agreement and turned back to the two who were about to begin. Kurapika smiled at Gon before looking at Phoenix and frowning slightly as he remember what he overheard last night.

"I will serve as referee. My name is Masta. Best of luck" The referee introduced himself.

Hanzo turned to him and smiled, "Hey, good to see you again. You were tailing me during the Fourth Phase" Hanzo said cheerfully as Phoenix sweat dropped at Gon and Leorio's cluelessness.

"You noticed?" Masta asked dumbfounded.

"Naturally… I'm assuming that each applicant was assigned an examiner for the Fourth Phase. Well, I'm sure everyone else noticed" As Hanzo chatted away Phoenix turned her head to Satotz-san and winked at him making him chuckled as he remembered the young girl doing the same to him when she got her tag the first day. "You have my thanks. My rank was higher because your reports on me were accurate. Though the outcome was never in doubt" Hanzo boasted with Phoenix looking at him with a deadpanned expression.

"Y-yes" Masta stuttered hurriedly wanting to get on with the match.

"Moving on, I have a question for you" Hanzo said getting serious again. "We only win if our opponent surrenders, correct? It doesn't count if we knock them unconscious. No TKO's allowed, either" Hanzo asked or more like explained.

"Yes, that is correct" Masta confirmed as Hanzo looked down at Phoenix with a thoughtful expression.

"Now then, it's time to begin" Masta stated as he stepped away from the two. Hanzo crouched lightly as Phoenix just put her right foot back and kept her body loose. "Begin" Masta shouted throwing his arms down and leaping backwards a little.

Neither Hanzo nor Phoenix moved an inch, "You know, I don't want to fight a little girl" Hanzo said slightly mockingly.

Phoenix only smirked ruefully back at him, "Then don't" She said simply.

She could hear a few applicants chuckle as well as her friends and the Chairman.

Hanzo's eyebrow twitched slighted at her remark but carried on mocking her, wanting her to make the first move, "Just surrender, there's no way that you could beat me, I have at least six years more experience than you do, not to mention that I'm stronger then you are"

Phoenix just sighed as she watched him try to tick her off, it was doing nothing but boring her. Seeing that his taunts did nothing he gritted his teeth before running up to her so fast that he was a blur and appeared behind her. As he went to chop her on the back of her neck she spun around to face him and leaping away all in one movement.

Hanzo smirked as he looked at young girl, "You're faster than I thought" He complimented, "You have my respect"

"You're respect mustn't be hard to earn or worth much if something as simple as dodging that earms it" Phoenix taunted nonchalant.

Hanzo gained a throbbing vein in the middle of his forehead, "You little brat" He growled as he ran as the girl quicker than before aiming to punch her in the stomach.

All Phoenix did was jump to the side onto her hands before pushing off and away from Hanzo. Deciding to get the match moving along Phoenix surprised Hanzo and everyone by running straight a Hanzo.

The punch she threw at Hanzo was blocked by the ninja catching her hand but the momentum from her punch allowed her to kick off the group turning her body horizontal as she kicked at the bald ninja. Hanzo quickly brought up his free hand and caught the young girls' ankle before it could make contact with the side of his head.

Hanzo held the girl upside down and smirked down at her but his eyes widened when she used her free leg to kick his unprotected chin so hard that he flew a few feet into the air as he let her go.

The black haired girl used her hands to catch herself before spin her legs to twist her body before going upright again once her back was to Hanzo so when she stood up she was facing him.

One the side lines most of the applicants were in a stunned silence from the force and skill the girl had shown in the past twenty seconds.

Sadly Hanzo flipped in mid-air and landed lightly on his feet. He wiped his mouth of the spit and blood that came from his split lip.

The two glared at each other for a second before dashing towards the other and locking in an intense hand to hand fight. They exchanged punches and kicks neither able to get a good solid hit on the other because all the attacks were either avoided or block.

The exchanged continued for a full thirty seconds, both breathing a little heavier before Phoenix jumped back a few feet and launching herself into the air.

Flipping around she brought her heeled boot down onto Hanzo's crossed arms but she didn't stop there, spinning around in mid-air she brought down her other foot hard enough that the floor beneath the ninja cracked a little. Not stopping her assault she kept spinning and kicked down at Hanzo.

Just as Phoenix was about to break his block Hanzo's right hand shot out and grabbed the foot that was just coming down on him. Using all of his strength, Hanzo yelled out as he threw Phoenix down to the floor with enough power to smash the floor and send the young girl bouncing across the room.

Rolling across the floor Phoenix flipping over into a crouch facing Hanzo but she continued to slide tills she stopped close to the other applicants. Looking up she took note that there were was a crater on the ground made by her body when she hit the ground.

Feeling a warm trickling down the left side of her face Phoenix knew that she was bleeding heavily since it was already making a small puddle below her. Ignoring her pain and blood for the moment Phoenix stood up. Her hair falling in messy black waves.

Hanzo like Phoenix was bleeding, his cheek was bleeding and so was a few places on his arms. "You pretty good, kid" Hanzo smirk at the young girl, "I haven't been pushed this much for a while"

Phoenix grinned back at him with a breathless chuckled, "You're not so bad yourself. You're rather fun to fight with"

Hanzo grinned back at the girl who had earnt his respect. Before either could say anything there was a shout coming from the side, "Phoenix, are you okay?" Looking over the two saw that it was Gon.

Both fighters had a looked of surprise on their faces, _'We're in the middle of the Final Phase, I completely forgot'_ both thought as they sweat dropped.

Phoenix smiled wryly at Gon before turning back to Hanzo. Taking a deep breath she shot at the bold ninja faster than before as Hanzo prepared himself.

Missing him slightly Phoenix ended up behind him and noticed his slightly different stance and the scraping of metal that told Phoenix that he now had a knife out. Quickly reaching down Phoenix pulled out her new dagger and brought up just as Hanzo turned around and slashed at her with a kunai knife.

Both fighters tried to overpower the other but it was Hanzo who was winning. See this Phoenix flicked her wrist slightly, sending the kunai knife into the air. Before Hanzo could recover Phoenix used his chest as a spring board, pushing him to the ground when she pushed off, catching the kunai and flipping around and landing on her feet.

Hanzo was about to flip over onto his feet when his wrist were pinned down by two heeled boots. Looking up Hanzo froze as pointed her dagger right at his throat and poised his kunai over his heart.

"Surrender!" Phoenix demanded out of breath.

Hanzo only sighed as he let his head fall back to the floor, "I surrender!" He conceded.

Phoenix let out a loud sigh of relief as she took the two blades away from him before tumbling to lay beside him on the floor, trying to catch her breath.

There were cheers from the sides as they lied there for a few seconds before Hanzo stood up. He picked up is kunai and placed it in a secret pocket on his pants. Looking down at Phoenix he smile which she returned. Reaching down his hand he helped the young girl up once she had taken his hand.

But once she was standing Phoenix gasp and fell to her knees holding her chest tightly, coughing out blood had a lot of people panicking. Her friends ran over to her, shouting her name as Hanzo leaned her onto his side.

Kurapika was the first to reach the pair. Prying her hands away from her chest he put his hands gently on either side of her rib cage and as he did she gasped again and flinch away from the touch. The sharp movement made her cough up more blood.

"She either has internal bleeding or one of her ribs has punctured her lung!" Kurapika exclaimed panicking slightly.

There was a loud bang as the doors burst open and a group of doctors and nurses ran up to them with a stretcher.

Moving Phoenix onto the stretcher was a little tricky as at every movement she would either cry out or whimper.

Safely on the stretcher she was rushed out of the room and taken to get some emergence care and maybe surgery if her lung was punctured by a rib. All her friends, the other applicants, referees, examiners and Chairman Netero could do was watch the young girl get taken away worriedly.

* * *

 **A/N: I'll leave this right here, I hope you like.**

 **I wonder if Phoenix is okay?**

 **Another fight scene. Please tell me what you think about it because I'm still new the writing about fighting.**

 **I have closed my poll and the winner was Chairman Netero.**

 **Answer from last chapter:** **I prefer Killua's** ** _Nen_** **ability because it has more uses then Gon's does.**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your favourite Hunter x Hunter movie?**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

Waking up form unconsciousness Phoenix noticed straight away that she wasn't alone. Cracking her eyes open slightly she winced as she closed them quickly, the brightness of the room stinging the back of her tired eyes.

"Oh, you're awake?" A somewhat familiar voice asked.

Opening her eyes once more but slower this time Phoenix turned her head to the side to see a women with mint green hair pulled up into five top knots. Menchi was smiling at her brightly, happy to see her back with the living, Phoenix presumed.

The black haired girl just started to the older women blankly for a moment not noticing the nervous look that was slowly making its way onto the older woman's face. Her memories from before she passed out were hazy but that they came back once she tried to remember.

Gasping the young girl shot up into a sitting position before gasping and grabbing onto her stomach, bending forward to try and ease the pain.

"Oi, oi! Be careful, you're still injured" Menchi was quick to scold not wanting the young girl to hurt herself even more.

"The Hunter Exam! What happened?" She gasped out in a rushed not even bothering with worrying about herself, she was more concerned about what happened with her friends and if they past, "Who passed?"

Menchi frowned lightly thinking back to what happened, "Calm down, you're in a waiting room, near the arena for the Final Phase. Before I tell you what happened with the exam I should tell you what happened to you. You thankfully didn't puncture a lung which we thought you did for a while, but you had a little internal bleeding but our doctors took care of that and it's all fixed up. You will be sore for a week or so due to bruising and cuts. That's all that there is to your condition that you need to know" Menchi explained to the young girl before snapping her fingers as she remember another thing, "The doctors also said you need to rest and can't do anything over the top" Menchi nodded with a small smile.

Humming Phoenix looked over her body; her arm warmers had been replaced with a few Band-Aid patches here and there, she could feel that her stomach was bandaged as well, her legs didn't really take any damage due to mostly being covered with her boots and socks.

"Who passed?" The toxic green eyed girl asked now that she wasn't in pain and had calmed down.

Menchi looked a little hesitant to reveal what had happened but sighed when Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "Before that, I would like to congratulate you on passing the Hunter Exam" She said instead, trying to avoid the topic for as long as possible.

Menchi held her hand out for the younger girl to shake and smiled brightly again when her small hand grabbed onto hers gently. Looking at the young girl one the bed she froze for a second when she met narrowed eyes.

Sighing Menchi gave in to the silence demand, "The Exam finished about ten minutes ago, the others who passed will be completing a brief orientation in about an hour, and you will be joining them since your up. The person who didn't pass was #99, Killua" The mint haired women said with a rather serious face.

Phoenix's eyes widened in shock at the information she was just given, she felt her stomach drop as her breath hitched. "What?" She asked softly.

Menchi bite her lip before she repeated herself, "Killua didn't pass"

Phoenix looked down at her lap in confusion, she knew that Killua was rather strong and not to mention he was quite smart so it didn't really make much sense that he had failed. _'He didn't just give up did he?'_ The dazed girl thought to herself.

The mint haired woman sat silently as the young girl tried to sort out her thoughts before looked up at her, "What happened?" Phoenix asked in a whisper.

And so Menchi explain, she explained about how Hanzo beat Gon around until the kid won his opponent over, Kurapika and Hisoka's fight, which Hisoka whispered something to the blonde male before giving up and Kurapika letting it go. Phoenix frown hearing this, that wasn't like Kurapika but that could wait for a bit. Then the older woman went on to explain Pokkle's beat down by Hanzo and then Hisoka's match against Bodoro, again Phoenix frowned when she was told about Hisoka whispering something to Bodoro who then gave up.

Once Phoenix was informed about Killua giving up about Pokkle she clenched her fists but didn't show her anger any other way and let Menchi continue without interrupting her. She smiled slightly at how Leorio asked that his match against Bodoro be postponed a little to let the elder man rest some more, but the smile was wiped off her face very quickly as Menchi went into detail about Killua's match again Gittarackur, no Illumi. Menchi explained and hinted there was something more going on with what happened but Phoenix didn't have any idea what it was.

Thinking that was how Killua was disqualified, that Killua had just gone home and given up in the face of his older brother but her eyes widened as Menchi told her about how Killua had killed Bodoro right before his and Leorio's match began and effectively disqualifying him.

The silence in the room was deafening as Menchi watched the young girl sitting in the bed before her. The black haired girl was gripping the sheets as her hands shook.

"You know, Illumi told Killua that he didn't want anything but Killua said that he did… He wanted to be friends with you and Gon" Menchi told the destressed girl gently and smiled softly when the girl jerked slightly before slowing looked over at her.

Phoenix didn't say anything just stared at the older woman before giving back a small but genuine smile back.

"We're already friends" She said in her soft voice.

Menchi giggled and nodded her head, "Leorio said that same thing" Before she could say anything else there was a knock on the door.

A blond head poked through the now open door, "Excuse me, I was asked to fetch you for- Phoenix" The blond who the two women now know it Kurapika looked at the awake young girl before walking all the way in before quickly making his way to her side and bringing her in for a tight but carful embrace which Phoenix was more the happy to return, "I'm glad you're okay" He mumbled into her hair.

Phoenix smiled into Kurapika's neck before pulling back and smiling brightly at her best friend and brother, "Sorry to have worried you Kura" Phoenix said softly and Menchi looked away to give the two some privacy.

Kurapika shook his head before giving her a kissed on the forehead something he hadn't done for a while, "It's fine" He said standing up before turning to Menchi, "Sorry, I was asked to fetch you for the orientation in five minutes" Kurapika explained slightly sheepishly.

Menchi smirked as she walked up to the two and with the blondes help helped Phoenix out of the bed. She needed a little support for a minute as she got her balance before the trio left for the orientation a few hallways away.

When they had gotten to the room Menchi went inside as Leorio yelled out to Phoenix as he ran up to the two friends. Bending down Leorio engulfed the female in a gentle hug all the way shouting that he was glad she was okay. Phoenix just giggled to herself as she pat the older weeping man on the back to help comfort him, Kurapika was just rolling his eyes smirking.

As Leorio straightened up the trio noticed that Hanzo was making his way over to them. The two boys by Phoenix's sides stiffened slightly but Phoenix stepped forward slightly as Hanzo came to a stop in front of her with a smile.

The bald ninja returned her smile before bowing at the waist making the young girl jump slightly in surprise, "You are a formidable opponent and I hope that I get the chance to fight with again on day" Hanzo said with respect in his voice.

Phoenix beamed up at the man and nodded her consent, "I'd like that. You're rather strong yourself and I had fun during out fight" Phoenix bowed her head, not able to bend at the waist like the ninja in front of her but he seemed to understand that from the slight sheepish smile.

The two exchanged one more smile before Hanzo made his way inside, turning around to her two male friends she was glad to see the two had relaxed and were smiling gently and slightly proudly at her.

Giggling into her hand, feeling slightly giddy she made her way inside with the two following close behind.

The orientation was a little boring and it wasn't until it was almost finished that matches were brought up. It seems that both Kurapika and Leorio had put in complaints about Killua's disqualification. And while Phoenix herself wasn't happy about what had happened she didn't see the point in arguing over something that couldn't be change so she kept quiet from in between her two older friends, hoping they wouldn't drag her into it since she wasn't even there.

But Phoenix didn't need to worry about that because before either could thing about it the doors slammed open from the back of the room.

Looking over everyone saw that it was Gon, wearing a sling for his broken left arm, an X shaped Band-Aid on his forehead and a blank face, was standing in the doorway.

He walked down the stairs, his steps echoing off the walls of the dead silent room before coming to a stop next to who Phoenix guessed was Illumi who didn't even look at the young boy now glaring at him.

"Apologize to Killua!" Was all Gon said loudly and furiously ignoring all the eyes that were on him.

"Apologize? For what?" Illumi asked blankly.

"You don't know what you did wrong" Gon asked unbelieving.

"Nope" Was the simple answer he got.

Phoenix noted that Gon's right knuckles where starting to turn white from how hard he was clenching his fist in rage, "You don't have the right to be his brother" Gon told Illumi like it was a well-known fact.

Illumi turned away from him, not at all bothered, "Must I earn the right to be his brother?"

Gon obviously getting annoyed with the way Illumi wasn't taking him seriously, lashed out and grabbed the tall black haired male with a vice-grip and yanked her out of his chair and over his head where he landed on the other side of Gon. The younger male still hadn't let go of his arm yet.

Illumi landed gracefully on his feet, Phoenix was disappointed to see, "He doesn't need to earn the right to be my friend!" Gon exclaimed loudly almost yelling as he squeezed Illumi's arm until it broke. Still not letting go Gon moved so he was in front of Illumi with his back to the judges, "Don't bother apologizing. Just take me to see Killua"

Phoenix jerk a little at what Gon demanded but was thankful no one seemed to notice. _'Is he insane, he would be killed the second those two were alone'_ the young girl thought worriedly to herself.

"What will you do then?" Illumi asked.

"That should be obvious… I'm going to rescue Killua!" Gon announced confidently.

"You make it sound as though I kidnapped him… He walked away on his own" Illumi told Gon a little amused either by Killua's actions or Gon's Phoenix wasn't too sure.

"But it wasn't by choice. He was being manipulated by you people. It's the same as kidnapping him!" Gon practically yelled at the assassin.

Chairman Netero chose that moment to step in, "We happened to be discussing this very subject, Gon. Kurapika and Leorio have both lodged complaints. The committee had been discussing the fairness of Killua's disqualification" He explained calmly.

Kurapika stood up at once, "Killua had been behaving in a strange manner during and since his battle with the man who called himself Gittarackur! I believe that he was hypnotized into committing murder. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to use hypnosis to induce a person to kill. However, as Killua was raised in a family of assassins, murder was a part of his daily life, so it's natural that he would lack the ethical restraint of most!" Kurapika reasons strongly.

Leorio was the next to stand up, "I want to mention that the attack happened during the match between Bodoro and me. It's possible that he was trying to help me. Given that, the one who should be disqualified is me" Leorio pointed out while sticking his thumb at himself.

"In any case, Killua was not in control of his own actions. Thus, he should not have been disqualified!" Kurapika summarized.

"That is mere speculation" Chairman Netero began turning away and walking back to the rest of the judges, "There is not proof. There is not clear signs of manipulation. In fact, I would question that claim of hypnosis. I agree that the incident occurred after the battle between Leorio and Bodoro had begun. At the point, both fighters were evenly matched. Bodoro had more experience. But in terms of raw combat ability, Leorio was the stronger. There was no need for Killua to interfere" The Chairman finished.

"There was some other funny business happening" Pokkle spoke up turning to Kurapika. Phoenix knew where he was going with this and sent a small glare of warning at him which he ignored. "Like what you fought Hisoka. Back then, what did he say to you? Neither seemed particularly tired. But Hisoka whispered something in your ear, right before conceding. That's pretty strange. I'd understand surrendering after your opponent whispers something to you, as happened with Hanzo and me, or Bodoro and Hisoka. Because we were under considerable pressure. But in your case, the exact opposite happened. I have to wonder if you're struck some sort of bargain. If you're going to question anything that seems odd, your victory was quite odd, indeed. If you have nothing to hide, you should tell us what he said. Right now" Pokkle explained but all it did was make Phoenix glare more heavily at him.

"I have no obligation to yell you" Kurapika told him in a deadly calm voice.

Before Pokkle to argue back Phoenix beat him to, "Why does Kurapika's match have anything to do with you?" She slightly sneered gaining everyone's attention and Kurapika to look at her from the corner of his eye but he didn't stop her, "Their fight had nothing to do with you so why should you be bothering with it? You're not friends with either Kurapika or Hisoka for that matter. From what I heard you gave up pretty quickly against Hanzo-san which must have been quite embarrassing for you, and then to just have Killua walk away from you without bothering to do anything really must have added salt to the wound, hm? Just because you're angry and humiliated by the way you won doesn't mean you go around being a brat" Phoenix snapped in a slightly louder voice then normal.

Kurapika put his hand on her head before she could say anything else but didn't look away from Pokkle because he looked ready to kill her but the way he glared at her. Phoenix didn't say anything else but she did glare back at the brat with cold eyes that sent a shiver down his spine even if he hide it well.

"None of that matters…" A voice muttered that Phoenix only just heard.

"Come on… I want to get this lecture over with so I can leave" Hanzo spoke loudly standing up, he was also looked at Pokkle but out the corner of his eye in case he tried to hurt the young girl who had earnt his whole hearted respect.

"None of that matter!" Gon screamed out silencing everyone, "It's pointless to argue over whether someone should have passed. If you aren't happy about passing, keep working until your satisfied. If Killua retakes the Hunter Exam, he'll definitely pass! It's unfortunate that he failed this time, but it is what it is. What does matter, if you've been forcing Killua to kill, against his will, all this time, I'll make you pay!" Gon threatened and Phoenix knew that she would back him up when he did.

"Make me pay?" Illumi asked bored, "What, exactly, will you do?"

"I won't do anything. Only, once I rescue Killua, I'll never let you see him again!"

Just as Gon had finished speaking there was a cold, blood thirst chill in the air that only Phoenix seemed to have noticed as a chill went down her spine, and it seemed to be coming from Illumi. He was lifting his hand out to Gon and before Phoenix could called out to Gon in warning the boy jumped back a few meters, having noticed that change in the air as well.

"Ahem" The Chairman coughed getting everyone's attention again, "Is everyone finished? Gon is absolutely correct. You must decide for yourselves if you were worthy of passing. You may complain about the results all you like. But we not be changing our minds" That this everyone began to sit down again, "Killua had been disqualified. And the rest of you have passed the exam"

At that Beans stepped forward and the newly founded Hunters finished their orientation.

Now that the long and slightly boring orientation was finished everyone left the room and started to loiter around the courtroom just outside to stretch their legs and get there blood pumping.

However Gon went straight up to Illumi, "Gittarackur, tell me where Killua is" The young teen demeaned.

"Are you really going to take him away?" Illumi asked just to make sure, "I think it's a bad idea"

"I don't care what you think!" Gon snapped, "Killua is my friend. I'm taking him with me"

Illumi looked over his head at the three that had followed close behind Gon, "Do they feel the same way?" He asked.

Gon looked behind him a little surprised to see Phoenix, Kurapika and Leorio standing there. The two oldest teens were staring Illumi down while Phoenix gave Gon a soft smile and a wink, making him grin at her. "You bet!" Leorio said strongly.

Illumi sighed, "Fine. I doubt you'll be able to make it there anyway. Killua went home"

"Home?" Gon asked wanting more details.

"Kukuroo Mountain. Our family lives at the very top" Illumi explained.

"Kukuroo Mountain?" Leorio muttered to himself.

"Got it. Thanks." Gon said simply before walking away with his three friends.

Soon the four friends out a good place to sit and talk about they learned. They found a spot under some trees that had a few benches scatter along the walkway.

"Kukuroo Mountain? Never heard of it before. Kurapika, do you know where it is? Hey, Kurapika!" Leorio said a little more loudly when it became apparent that Kurapika was zoning out, which worried Phoenix a little.

"Huh? Oh, what it is?" The blonde asked now paying attention.

"The mountain! He said something about Kukuroo Mountain. Do you know where it might be?" Leorio asked as moved a little away from Phoenix who was tossing her knife into the air absently while listening.

"No, I don't" Kurapika admitted, "We can look it up online" Kurapika offered instead.

The four heard footsteps coming their way and turned to see Hanzo waving at them as he made his way over, "Yo!"

"Hanzo-san!" Phoenix said happily, having taken a liking to the bald ninja.

"I'm going back to my country. It was short, yet seemingly long acquaintance, but I had fun" Hanzo explained to them giving a bright smile at Phoenix who return it.

"So did I" Gon admitted.

"If you ever visit my country, let me know. I can show you the best tourist spots!" He said as he gave them all a card with his number, name and his country on it, "See ya!" He said ruffling Gon and Phoenix's hair as he walked away.

"Bye!" Phoenix and Gon called out to him.

"A shinobi who tries to leave an impression…" Kurapika said a little awkwardly.

"Hey." A voice called out to them, looked up Phoenix was less than impressed to see that it was Pokkle, "Sorry about getting so excited back there" He apologized to Kurapika and Phoenix.

"No, I also lost control" Kurapika said sheepishly but Phoenix didn't say anything just continued to toss her knife into the air, "Forgive us"

"No, I only got mad because Phoenix was right. I was using you to take out my frustration for winning by default. But I'm over it now. Since I passed, I'm going to make the best of it" He told the group as he came a little closer but still kept his distance because Phoenix didn't seem to want him around, "The question is what to do next"

"Yes, you're right" Kurapika agreed.

"I'm going to travel the world, gathering information and discover new species, as an Exotic Game Hunter" The peach haired male told the group.

"An Exotic Game Hunter…" Kurapika repeated.

"Hey, what's that?" Gon asked pointing at the thing under Pokkle's arm.

"Oh, this? You can use this to obtain all kinds of information. Is there anything you'd like to know? I can look it up on the spot" He offered.

"Hm… Can you look up a Hunter named Ging?" He asked, "Ging Freecss"

Phoenix stopped tossing her knife around, ignoring the quiet sigh of relief from Leorio, and payed more attention to what information that Pokkle would give to her friend.

"Sure, hold on…" After a little bit of waiting Pokkle looked a little stunned at whatever he had found, "Hey, who is this Ging guy? All the information related to him is behind a tight security system that requires a bunch of different accesses. He has some serious influence, even at the national level" Pokkle informed the group of four.

All four pairs of eyes widened at this "Huh, really? Forget it then…" Gon said nervously.

"Looks like your dad is someone really special" Leorio whispered into Gon's ear making the younger teen laugh nervously.

"Okay, let me know if anything comes up. This is my e-mail address" Pokkle said handing out his card to the four, Phoenix took hers reluctantly, before he starting to run off, "Bye"

"Bye!" Gon called back.

"Ah!" Leorio suddenly said in realization and Phoenix was glad she had put her knife away after she finished tossing it around because she had jumped a little, "We should have asked him to looked up Kukuroo Mountain" He said slumping over slightly.

"That's right" Gon said in disappointment.

"It's okay. As Chairman Netero was saying we are Hunters now. It's a bad to let other Hunters know what you're doing. We can look it up ourselves" Kurapika told them.

"Not to mention he was a brat so we don't need his help!" Phoenix said turning her head away slightly while the three boys sweat dropped at her obvious dislike for the peach haired guy.

"Gon-kun" Someone called out again, looking over they saw it was Satotz-san.

"Satotz-san!" Gon said happily running over to him while the other three stood back and watched as Satotz-san gave Gon his Hunter licence that he had forgotten back in the room he was resting in. The three agreed to wait for the boy in the lobby while he talked to Satotz-san.

On the way to the lobby the three ran into the Chairman, "Chairman Netero!" Phoenix greeted sweetly.

"Oh, Phoenix-chan, I was just looking for you. Can I speak with you for a moment?" He asked with a smile.

Phoenix blinked a little surprised before nodded and telling her friends she'd meet them in the lobby before following after him down a differently hallway then what they were in.

It didn't take long to get to where the Chairman was taking her. It was a rather simple room with, more like an office then anything but there wasn't any desk. There was a table and some cushions like back in the room she had her interview before the Final Phase.

Sitting down in front of the chairman on her own cushion, she waiting for him to speak.

"Phoenix-chan, after you have gotten your friend back I would like you to come back to this hotel" The Chairman explained.

Phoenix tilted her head a little as she furrowed her brows, "Why is that Chairman Netero?" She asked nervous that she had done something wrong.

The chairman only chuckled, "It's nothing bad I would just like to train you, that's all" He said smiling fondly at the young girl whose eyes widened in shock. He waiting a moment for that information to settle in before continuing, "Their something special about you my dear and I won't say what exactly until we begin training but I do hope that you'll accept my offer"

Phoenix looked down a little before looked back up at the Chairman with something glittering in her eye that made the Chairman grin, "I would love to be trained by you, Netero-sensei" Phoenix grinned.

Meeting back up with her friends Phoenix decided that she wouldn't tell them just yet about what had happened and only wave their questions away when they asked.

"So we're taking an airship to the Dentora region of the Republic Padokea. That's where Kukuroo Mountain is?" Phoenix asked as they as she sat in the front seat on the taxi they were in.

"Yes. It's a stable country so we should be fine" Kurapika explained to the young girl knowing her worries about going somewhere new.

Phoenix nodded before Leorio decided to start complaining again, "What's going on. We've been stuck in one place forever" He was obviously talking about the traffic jam they were in.

"This won't do. We'll be late for out flight" Kurapika agreed.

"Pops! Do something!" Leorio demeaned of the driving like he could magically do something.

"I'm afraid I can't help this traffic. And this is the only road" The driver said a little annoyed.

"In that case" Gon said with a wide grin that just promised trouble.

It wasn't long before the three boys where running while Kurapika carried Phoenix on his back because she was still meant to be taking it easy for a while. And it may not be the best way to travel it was the quickest at the moment so the four friends races to the airport to save their friend.

* * *

 **A/N: And here is the long awaited chapter**

 **As you can see in this chapter, I don't like Pokkle so sorry to any Pokkle fans out there.**

 **The Chairman has finally asked Phoenix if he can train her and she agrees, how exciting.**

 **Answer from last chapter: I prefer the second movie, 'Hunter x Hunter: The last mission'**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your favourite anime that isn't Hunter x Hunter?**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Dazzling city lights gleaming in the city that Phoenix and the three boys were flying over. Phoenix sat on a seat furthest away from the window. Watching Gon out the corner of her eye she frowned sadly to herself at the melancholy look in his eyes.

Phoenix sighed silently to herself just as Kurapika and Leorio came back into the room with the food they went to get for the four.

The toxic green eyed girl watch as Gon muttered slightly to himself not paying attention to anything around him. He was surprised when a fry was suddenly shoved into his mouth by Leorio.

"What's with the long face, Gon?" The bespectacled teen asked in a cheerful voice.

"We'll be in the Republic of Padokea by morning. You'll see Killua soon" Kurapika added handing Phoenix her fries and burger.

Gon nodded in agreement before looked back outside but with a determined expression instead of a gloomy one.

Phoenix smiled softly at her friend before beginning to eat.

As she was eating she through back on the other day when the Chairman ask to train her. She still hadn't told Kurapika or anyone just yet, not knowing how to bring it up.

' _There's something special about you my dear and I won't say what exactly until we begin training but I do hope that you'll accept my offer'_ Was what he had told her but she didn't have a single clue about what he was talking about. What was so special about her that made her stick out then any of the others? Was there something wrong with her that the Chairman was worried about so he was going to train her to keep an eye on her?

Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts she scolded herself for thinking so negatively. _'If there was something wrong with me then The Chairman wouldn't have allowed me to leaving and move around on my own'_ Phoenix told herself looking up. Kurapika was staring at her worried, while Leorio and Gon looked expectantly at her.

"Um…what?" She asked timidly, not sure why they were staring at her like that.

Leorio gave her an annoyed looked and Gon looked sheepish. Kurapika didn't look like his worries were any lessened by her lapse of awareness.

"I ask you if you know anything about the Zoldycks!" Leorio told her grumpily.

"Oh, sorry" Phoenix apologized giving a small sheepish smile to Leorio before thinking about his questions, "Well I know that their all assassins and have always have been but that's all I know right now, sorry" Phoenix explained trying to think of anything else.

Leorio sighed in disappointment, "The same as the rest of us" He mumbled before standing up and pulling out some blankets and pillows from the compartments above their head, "Anyway, let's get some sleep so we're not tired tomorrow" he said passing the bedding out before making himself comfortable going to sleep, Gon joining him quickly.

The blonde male got ready for bed but once he was settled in he didn't fall asleep instead he looked at his friend who hadn't moved since taking the bedding from Leorio.

"Nix" Kurapika called out to her softly so he wouldn't wake up their friends. His brows furrowed slightly as Phoenix jumped, obviously lost in thought again, "What's going on? You've been quieter than usual these past few days" He asked concerned.

Phoenix looked at Kurapika for a moment before looking down her hands resting on the pillow in her lap. Clenching her fist she sighed out the tension in her stiff body before moving so her back was leaning against the armrest and she was facing Kurapika.

Resting her arms on her legs that were tucked under her chin she looked back to the blonde, "I'm okay, really. I've just been thinking is all" She told him honestly.

Kurapika didn't say anything for a moment, "Is it about Killua or what the Chairman spoke to you about?" He asked gently.

"I'm worried about what's happening with Killua but I'm thinking more about what the Chairman and I spoke about" Phoenix said. Pausing she looked up at Kurapika from she had dropped her gaze to see him looking at her encouragingly. "He asked that once we get Killua back that I return to the Hunters Hotel so he can train me…"

Kurapika stared at the young girl before in stunned silence. To be trained by the Chairman would be a great honour but he knew that Phoenix didn't care about that normally something like this wouldn't bother her enough to get lost so deep in thought like she has been, so that can only mean, "You're scared about being alone again, aren't you?" Kurapika asked tenderly.

Phoenix bit her lip and nodded, "Yeah, I… I haven't been on my own for four years and I'm scared of being by myself just like back then" Phoenix muttered before burrowing her head into her knees, holding back tears.

Kurapika sighed before leaning forward and using his fingers to lift her chin so he could look into her eyes that were filled with hesitation and sadness, "Everything thing will be okay. We might not be together for a while but doesn't mean we won't ever see each other or we won't talk every night" The blonde smiled at her reassuringly but a hint of sadness in his own eyes.

While his words were true he was also reluctant to let Phoenix be on her own. He knew that they weren't going to be travelling together now that the Hunter's Exam was over because now they had three new friends who would do anything for them and Kurapika wanted Phoenix to go with them while he went after the spiders. He never told her but he never wanted her to get involved with his revenge, not because she was weak, she was far from it but because he didn't want her to fall into the darkness like he probably will.

Phoenix nodded unaware of what was going on inside the blondes head before she crawled over so that she was lying against him. She smiled softly to herself as Kurapika freed her hair from its bun and ran his hands through her hair just like he always did when she was stressing herself out.

"You're the best, Kurapika-nii" Phoenix whispered as she drifted off the sleep not noticing the way Kurapika frozen for a second before smiling with tears in his eyes and drop a soft kiss on the top of her head, following her into sleep land.

* * *

The next morning the four finally arrived in the Dentora region of the Republic of Padokea where Killua lives. They travelled by train to the town near Kukuroo Mountain and were looking out the window at said mountain.

"There it is. The base for the family of assassins is on that mountain? It sure looks creepy…" Leorio said quietly to the others.

Phoenix silently agreed with the older teen. The peak of the mountain was cover in a dark fog that could be mistaken as clouds and just gave off a dangerous vibe. As much as it crept her out it also excited her.

"Yes. Once we reach our destination, we should start gathering information" Kurapika told everyone as they all nodded with agreement.

* * *

"Okay… Thank you taking Lamentation Tour today" The guild of the bus that the four had taken after getting information, bowed, "We will be visiting Kukuroo Mountain, home to the famous Zoldyck family of assassins"

"Look" Leorio said leaning forward to whisper to Phoenix and Kurapika who had seated themselves in front of Gon and Leorio. He gestured with his head to the back of the bus where some thugs were sitting not even bothered that their weapons were on full display, "They obviously aren't tourist"

"Yes…" Kurapika agreed quietly as he looked back enough to see them but not enough to raise suspicion. Phoenix just turned around slightly in her seat and made it so she was looking at Leorio but actually watching the thugs.

"Everyone?" Coco the tour guild called for everyone's attention, "Please look to your right" She instructed which everyone did, "That is Kukuroo Mountain, where the Zoldyck family lives. The forest surrounds the 3,772-meter mountain, and the Zoldyck estate is somewhere on that mountain. But no one has ever seen it. The Zoldyck family includes ten members: a great-grandfather, grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, and then, there are five children. All of them are assassins! Then let us approach the mountain" Coco explained to everyone.

Once the bus had stopped everyone got off it and were staring in awe at the massive gates with two stone dragons on top facing each other.

While everyone was commenting about how big it was, Phoenix was more focused on the design of the doors. If one was to look closely it seemed as if it wasn't just a single door but multiple ones.

' _How strange, why do they have so many doors?'_ The young teen thought to herself before her attention was grabbed by a commotion near the guard's station.

One of the thugs from the back of the bus had ripped off the door and was now holding the elderly guard off the ground by the front of his suit.

"Open the gate" The thug demanded of the guard.

"I-I cannot do that. The master would not be pleased" The guard explained in a hurry.

"Don't worry. We're going to kill your master" The other thug with a giant sword resting on his shoulder spoke up ignorantly.

The guard sighed as a look of defeat came across his face as he handed over the key for the pair of doors right next to the guard's station. The thug grabbed the key before harshly throwing the elder guard to the ground.

Phoenix gasp as she quickly made her way over to the guard with Gon to make sure he was okay.

"Are you okay?" Gon asked as the two came to the guard's side as he sat up, Kurapika and Leorio close behind them.

"Yes, I'm fine" The guard reassured the two young teens as they knelt down beside him in worry.

The door slammed shut bring the fives attention to the wooden doors. "Man… now Mike's going to end up eating between meals again" The guard mumble loudly to himself before everyone heard the thugs start to scream making everyone jump and rush to the bus apart from the four friends and guard, after a giant rust coloured paw dropped the two thugs skeletons.

"Mike!" The guard yelled out, "Don't blame me if you get fat!"

"What was that?" Kurapika asked tensed.

No one answered him but Phoenix couldn't take her eyes off of where the paw retreated. The claws on that thing was not only sharp but thick and long too. It brought along a sense of a ghost she could only describe as a faded, blurred memory. Shaking her head she turned back to her friends who were telling the Tour Guild that they were staying when she told them to get back onto the bus.

A little while later once everyone had calmed down with a cup of tea in the guard's station they explained what they were doing here, and that they planned to take Killua away from here.

"I see. So you're young Killua's friends. I'm happy to hear that. I've worked here for twenty years, but this is the first time any friends have come to visit. Since I work here, I shouldn't say this, but the place is rather lonely. No one ever visits. Though we do see a lot of those…" The guard gestured over his shoulder at the skeletons in the bin behind him, "Well, a family of assassins is pretty unusual. So I supposed it's the price they have to pay. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. Thank you" He bowed his head.

"Don't mention it" Leorio waved the thanks off.

"However… I cannot let you inside. Didn't you see the large arm of the creature? Its name is Mike. It serves as the Zoldyck family watchdog. It only obeys family, and will attack anyone else. The beast still follows the order its master gave it ten years ago… To kill every single intruder. But technically, he isn't following the order. Because he keeps eating them… Anyway, I can't let you inside. I wouldn't want to reduce young Killua's friends to skeletons"

The more the guard talked about Mike the more Phoenix's frown deepened, which thankfully went unnoticed by the others. He was talking about the animal as if it was a mindless beast. It was defiantly dangerous, Phoenix won't deny it, but it was trained that way. It disgusted the young girl that they trained the rust coloured creature into a bloodthirsty animal.

"Sir" Phoenix tuned back in when she heard Kurapika, "How is it that you're safe? You go inside correct? If you never needed to enter, you wouldn't have a key"

"Quite perceptive of you. But you're only half right. I require no key to get inside. This key is for intruders" The guard explained and Phoenix suddenly understood what Kurapika was getting at.

"For some reason, eighty to ninety percent of intruders attempt to use the front gate. If I don't open the gate for them, they'll try to break it down. Such troublemakers… so we added a locked door to one side. The intruders take the key from the helpless guard, and then Mike eats them" The elderly guard told them.

"Then the door isn't locked and the wooden doors aren't even the right door, am I right, Guard-san?" Phoenix asked quietly, discreetly calling his position as a guard out.

"As the young lady realized, I'm not a guard. I merely clean up after Mike. She is also right about the gate" The elderly man answered.

"What?" Leorio asked in surprise as the four friends looked back towards the gate.

The group of five make their way out of the guard house to get a closer look at the actual gate. Leorio thinking he could open it moved up to the door while warming up his arms. But the door didn't even creak at Leorio's weight as he pushed with all his might.

It was little amusing to Phoenix as she watched as Leorio tried different ways to open it like trying to slide it across or pulling it somehow…

"I've tried pushing and pulling, but it won't budge! Are you sure it isn't locked?" Leorio shouted finally had enough of trying to open the door.

"You just aren't strong enough" The guard said bluntly making phoenix swallow her giggles.

"That's absurd! I've been using all my strength!" Leorio screamed back offended.

The four then watched as the guard took off his suit jacket and shirt so he was only in a white tank and moved over to the door.

' _Why is he stripping?'_ Phoenix thought to herself a little creeped out.

"Just watch" Was all he said in a serious voice to the questioning looks he was getting from the group of four, "This gate's official name is the 'Testing Gate'. Anyone who cannot open this gate is unqualified to enter the Zoldyck estate" He explained as his muscles budged and he was surrender in a clear mist.

Looking at her friends Phoenix noticed that they couldn't see the mist as she could. A little confused about why that is she turned back to watch as the guard push the doors open with a little effort. As he stepped back the doors closed quickly and automatically.

The guard turned to smile at the four astonished faces staring at him, "As you just saw the door closes automatically, so you'll want to run in the second it opens. You don't need to worry about Mike. He has orders not to attack any who enter through the Testing Gate. Still, this is getting tougher as I age… But they'll fire me if I can't open the gate so I need to keep in shape" The guard explained, "I should mention that each of gate one's doors weigh two tons" He added as an afterthought.

"Two tons?" Leorio asked in disbelief, "You're not supposed to be able to open that! Wait what did you say? Gate one?"

"Yes, have a look. There are seven gate. When you go up a gate, the weight doubles"

"Doubles?" Leorio yelped.

"The number of gates that open depends on the amount of strength you use. Incidentally, when young Killua returned, he opened gates one through three" The guard told the four.

"Gate Three? That would be twelve tons!" Gon said seriously.

Phoenix looked at Gon with a slight deadpan, "Sixteen tons, Gon" She said at the same time as Kurapika.

Gon rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment with a sheepish chucked that make Phoenix giggle a little before turning back to the gates, _'I wonder how many I could open… if I can open any'_ She thought with a slight sweat drop.

"Do you understand now?" The guard as not noticing Phoenix's questioning gaze but Kurapika did and he knew exactly what she was thinking, "This is what's required just to get in the door. They live in a completely different world" the guard told the four somewhat gently.

"Hmm, I don't like it" Gon said honestly, "Mister, lend me the key. I came here to see my friend, not to be tested. You can consider me an intruder. So let me borrow the key. I'll use the intruder's door" He said turning to the guard.

"Gon!" Kurapika said wanting to talk to boy out of his reckless idea.

"Hey…" Leorio said wanting to do the same thing as the blonde.

Phoenix just stood there watching the boy with a searching gaze not saying anything.

"It doesn't matter if you won't loan me the key. I'll just climb the wall, if that's what it takes" Gon said ignoring the two's protests.

"Don't be stupid, Gon!" Leorio scolded the boy, "Didn't you see that monster? Its arm was bigger than your entire body!"

"I won't accept this!" Gon replied shutting Leorio up, "Why would you test your friends? I'll never enter through that door"

The guard sighed as he rubbed his balding head, "You are absolutely right. However, forcing your way through is impossible. Mike will kill you"

"I agree. We have plenty of time. Let's figure out a way to enter through gate one" Kurapika tired.

Gon ignored him and just held out his hand for the intruder's key. Leorio leaned over to Kurapika behind Gon, "It's not use. He's not gonna change his mind"

"Indeed" The blond agreed.

"Unfortunately, I cannot lend you this key. I will not feed young Killua's friends to Mike. Well please wait here for a minute" He said before making his way to the guard's station with the boys following behind him.

Phoenix stayed back and walked a little closer to the Testing Gates. She studied the gate closely while ignoring the shouting Gon was doing.

' _I'm pretty sure that I can get at least gate one open'_ Just as she was about to try Gon came storming out of the guard's station. She watched as Gon cast his fishing line over the gate and start to climb.

"Hey! Stop it, Gon!" Leorio shouted as he came over with Kurapika and the guard.

"It's okay. You three can wait here. I'll go by myself" Gon told his friends.

"I can't let you do that!" Leorio told him.

"Neither can I!" Phoenix told him making everyone pause, "I'm coming with you!" She told him with a smile.

Leorio let out a shout of anger before looking down at the girl with watching Gon, "Don't even think about it brat!" He screamed at her.

Phoenix glared at him making him flinch slightly but before she could say anything Kurapika came and laid a hand on her shoulder stopping her from doing anything, "You three need to calm down" He told the calmly.

"Gon-kun, I'll give you the key" The guard said as he made his way over the four, "You can go through the door"

"Hold on, pops!" Leorio said not wanting to encourage Gon, "We can convince to stop!"

"Really?" He asked doubtfully "But he appears to be a stubborn boy. To make amends, I'll accompany you through the door" This made Gon stop and looked at the guard, "It's possible that Mike may recognize me and decide not to attack. Though I'm almost a hundred percent certain that he'll kill us all"

At that Gon jumped down with a worried look on his face, "You can't do that. I don't want to cause you any trouble" Gon told him earnestly.

"No, I'm coming with you. The result will be the same if I stay behind. If I send young Killua's friends to their deaths, I'll never be able to face him again. If you die, I will also die"

Gon looked down at the guard'ss words before unhooking his fishing line on the top of the gate. "I understand now. I didn't stop to consider your situation. Sorry" Gon apologized getting everyone to smile at him for his thoughtfulness.

"You must like animals, Gon-kun" The guard stated.

"Yeah" Gon nodded.

"Just as I thought. Did you grow up playing in the countryside?"

"Yep! How did you know?"

"Gon-kun, I'm going to open the Testing Gates again. I want you to see Mike for yourself" The guard explained.

"Wait" Phoenix suddenly spoke getting everyone's attention, "Do you mind if I have try at the Testing Gates?" She asked shyly.

The guard looked a little shocked and doubtful but agreed to let her have a shot.

Walking up to the gates Phoenix put her hands on either side, after taking a deep breath and letting it out she started to push at the doors with all her might. She could feel the doors moving forward as she pushed. Ignoring Gon and Leorio's shouts of shock and the guards gasp she took a step forward before throwing her weight forward to make the doors slam open.

The others quickly went inside with Phoenix coming in last so the doors didn't close on any of them.

Gon was staring at her with amazement, Leorio with astonishment, the guard with shock and Kurapika was watching her with pride brimming in his eyes.

Looking back at the gate Phoenix was happy to see that she had pushed the second gate open as well as the first.

No one said anything as they made their way forward a little so they were a little ways away from the gate.

"Hey… Is it really okay for us to come in?" Leorio asked a little apprehensive.

"Yes, you'll be safe because you entered through the Testing Gate. Mike! Come here!" The guard called out.

His voice echoed around them ominously before a deep growl could be heard to the right of them. Looking over they all watched a giant rust coloured dog like creature walked toward them.

Just staring at the creature Phoenix could feel the bloodthirsty aura around it as it watched the four friends. She knew that it was memorizing their scents and the way they looked.

A happy childish giggle echoed in her head suddenly followed by the happy barking of a dog. _'What was that?'_ Phoenix thought confused, not knowing why she was hearing laughter and barking in her head but not with her ears.

Not taking her eyes off the creature that she could only describe as a giant dog or maybe a wolf, she observed its dull brown eyes that she thought would have been blank of any emotion but bloodlust but she could see a glint of warmth in its eyes. She didn't know why but she felt the need to take this giant dog and take it somewhere open for it to run around and be happy.

She could feel the others fear and anxiety as the giant dog laid down in front of them, she could also feel the guards stumped gaze on her, _'Probably because I'm the only one not afraid of Mike'_ Phoenix thought to herself.

"Gon-kun, do you understand now?" The guard ask solemnly, "This is a trained hunting dog. It's nothing like the wild animals you're accustomed to" The guard explained to them but mostly Gon who looked ready to run at any moment.

' _He's not a hunting dog!'_ Phoenix thought angrily to herself, not sure how she even knew that.

"You must have expected to be able to communicate with him. Until you saw his eyes. Mike us currently memorizing the appearances and scents of human's he's never seem. There's nothing else on his mind. He's like a machine. Gon-kun, could you fight him?" The guard asked.

Gon shook his head, "No, I'm scared. I don't want to fight him!" Gon answered honestly.

"Well, how long will you be here?" The guard then asked.

"Until we meet Killua" Gon said fiercely turning away from Mike just like Kurapika and Leorio but Phoenix continued to stare at Mike who was staring back like the two were in a trance. "We won't leave before then!"

The guard chuckled, "Then please come this way" He said leading the other further into the forest that surrounded them.

As the others moved away Kurapika looked back at Phoenix who hadn't moved an inch, "Phoenix?" He called out questionably gained the others attention but the girls, "Phoenix?" He called louder but didn't get an answer.

The boys were getting worried now, it wasn't like Phoenix to ignore them or zone out like this. Kurapika walked over to her slowly not wanting to startle her and probably Mike as well.

Once he was next to her he noticed that she had a distant look in her eyes just like she always did when she was thinking deeply but this was different it was like she wasn't even there anymore. Worried he placed a hand on her shoulder a shook her slightly.

"Kuuso" She mumble under her breath but Kurapika heard her and filed that away for later and with one finally shake he snapped her out of it. Looking at his worried face Phoenix was confused, "What's wrong Kurapika?" She asked quietly.

"Are you okay? You were really out of it just now" Kurapika asked instead.

Phoenix stared at him for few seconds before looking back at Mike then back again with a slightly shaky smile, "I-I'm okay" She stuttered slightly before making her way to her other worried friends but just gave then a small smile and they all continued on with Mike watching them go, no watching Phoenix go.

* * *

 **A/N: Finally finished the chapter! Sorry it took so long guys, I had massive writers block and couldn't think of anything!**

 **Who's Kuuso? What does Phoenix know about Mike? Who was giggling and barking?**

 **Answer from last chapter: I have a few favourite animes so I'll name five: One Piece, Naruto, Fairy Tale, Death Note and Haikyuu!**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your favourite anime Character that isn't in Hunter x Hunter?**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

The guard who Phoenix was told was named Zebro took them to the servant quarters for them to rest and think about their next move. The servant's quarters looked like a normal wood cabin but Phoenix knew better.

"Here are the servants' quarters. It's getting late. So you can stay here tonight" Zebro invited before opening the front door that the four friends noticed was quite heavy due to the scuff marks on the floor, "Please come in"

The four went inside and noted that it was a normal looking sitting room.

"Hey, I'm back!" Zebro called out to whoever else was in the house as well.

"Oh, you rarely bring guest" A purple haired man greeted as he walked down the stairs and leaned on the railing once he was down with the rest.

"This is Seaquant" Zebro introduced, "He works with me here"

"Good evening" Gon greeted the man.

Seaquant just stared before walking away, "If you managed to win over Zebro, you must be special. Well, make yourselves at home. Though it won't be easy here" He threw over his shoulder as he left the room.

Zebro then ushered the four to the couches to have a cup of tea and explain the reason he brought them to the servants' quarters.

"You want to see young Killua?" Seaquant laughed leaning against the wall after coming back to the group with cups, "That's a riot!"

Phoenix narrowed her eyes slightly but didn't comment, not wanting to be rude to their host but Leorio didn't seem to share her thoughts "Sorry. We're dead serious"

"Then let me give you a warning: Give up, and go home" Seaquant scoffed.

"What was that?" Leorio asked annoyed.

"I'm sorry Seaquant-san" Phoenix but in lifting her heavy cup with ease and taking a sip, ignoring both guards surprised looks, Seaquant more than Zebro, "But we didn't ask for advice, nor do we want it"

Kurapika nodded in agreement, happy that Phoenix didn't snap at the man.

"Zebro told you about the Testing Gate, right? That should give you an idea of what this place is like" Seaquant explained to the girl.

"We understand that it won't be easy. But I'm not leaving. Not until I see Killua!" Gon paused as Seaquant seemed to measure him up, "When Killua was in trouble, I wasn't there for him. If I had been there, I could have stopped Killua! Killua is my close friend!"

At Gon's words a still silence filled the room before Zebro chuckled turning to the young boy next to him, "We understand. Then why not do some training here?" Zebro offered, bringing the real reason he brought the four friends to the house.

"Training?" Gon asked curious.

"Hey, Zebro…" Seaquant cut in not agreeing.

"Listen to me, Gon-kun. You three are allowed to work together to open the door" The old man said surprising the four, Seaquant silently noted that Zebro said three and not four, "With a little training, it should be possible. How about it?"

Gon looked down at the table in front of him, "I don't like the idea of being tested…"

"But if there is no other way…" Kurapika picked up.

"We'll just have to do it!" Leorio finished.

Gon nodded happily. "Then I'll need you to put these on" Zebro announced as he brought out four black sleeveless weight jackets.

Leorio was the first to put his on and straight away he was struggling to stay standing. It wasn't long before he fell forward under the weight onto his hands and knees, "How is this so heavy…" He asked with a strained voice.

Gon wasn't even about to lift his weight jacket of the ground. Kurapika who was fairing a little better was holding it in his arms but hadn't been able to put it on just yet. Phoenix was the only one who wasn't struggling, in fact she was sitting down at the table sipping her tea again. But if one was to look closely you would notice that her arms were shaking from the weight on her body and lifting a twenty kilogram cup at the same time. Seaquant was staring gobsmacked at the strength of the young girl.

"It weights fifty kilograms" Zebro answered Leorio's question, "Please wear it at all times, expect while you sleep. I'll make it heavier as you get used to it"

' _I am so glad that I'm all healed…'_ Phoenix thought with a sweat drop as her friends joined her at the table once they had their weight jackets on.

"Please have some tea" Invited Zebro placing the three boys tea in front of them.

Phoenix watching with mild humour shining in her toxic green eyes as the boys all struggled to even get the cups off of the table.

"The cups weigh twenty kilograms. The teapot weighs forty kilograms" Zebro explained. He took note that Phoenix had finished her tea, "Ah, Phoenix-chan can you please pour yourself some more tea" He asked not missing that she could still lift her cup even with the weight jacket.

Phoenix looked at Zebro and then the teapot for a few seconds as everyone watched before sighing in defeat. Standing up she moved to the teapot and grasped it with both hands and tried to lift it couldn't get it higher than about three inches off the table.

After her third tried she gave up and sat back down slightly glaring at the teapot as Zebro chuckled at the girls' frustration.

"All furniture and utensils in this house weighs over twenty kilograms apiece" Zebro continued with his explanation of the training.

"I see… So this will serve as training" The blonde summarized.

"It's useless. They'll give up in two or three days" Seaquant shrugged mockingly.

"What was that?" Leorio snapped and Phoenix moved her glare from the teapot to the purple haired man.

"Seaquant, I believed that your shift has already started" Zebro pointed out before anything escalated.

"Oh, that's right…" The purple haired man mumbled before taking his leave.

"Sorry about that. He isn't a bad person" Zebro apologized for the rude man.

Leorio started to shakily stand up, using the table for support, "By the way, where's the bathroom?" He asked.

Zebro gestured to a door in the hallway, "Through the door over there"

Leorio looked over with dread filling him, "I'm guessing that the door is also…"

"Yes, it weighs five hundred kilograms" The old man declared cheerfully.

"Five hundred?" Leorio wheezed in shock before yelling in a panic, "What? Get out! I can't hold it in!"

* * *

The next morning the four we in front of the testing gates again about to try to open it. Gon went forward to try first. Phoenix was standing back with Zebro since she could already open the gate on her own.

"Wait, Gon. You just watch" Leorio stopped the young boy.

"Huh? Why?" Gon asked confused.

Kurapika was the one to answer, "You need to let your arm heal first"

"As long as Kurapika and I can open it, it doesn't matter. Let us handle this!" Leorio explained to the boy.

"Okay?" Gon said sadly before moving to stand with Zebro and Phoenix who gave him a small sweet smile that made him smile a little.

The three then watched as Kurapika and Leorio pushed with all their might to try and open to door but it didn't even budge.

"It's impossible" Phoenix heard Seaquant mutter before he turned to the young girl, "Oi, girl!" He called out getting her attention, "Why aren't you giving it a go?" He asked curious. From what he saw last night the girl was pretty strong so he was a little confused about why she wasn't helping her friends.

Phoenix tilted her head slightly in confusion, "Why would I need open it again?" She asked.

Seaquant chocked on his spit slightly at her answer, "Again? What do you mean again?" He asked incredulity.

"Phoenix-chan opened up to Gate two last night" Zebro answered for the girl.

Seaquant didn't know what to say to that. He was shocked but knew it was the truth, Zebro wouldn't lie about something like this.

"No use… It won't budge an inch" Phoenix heard Kurapika say and turned back to her friends not paying Seaquant any attention.

"Damn" Leorio cursed, "But we just started our training. If we work hard enough, we can do it!"

"I wish I could share your optimism" Kurapika sighed.

* * *

Leorio was right when he said they had only just started their training, Zebro was a slave worker. He had Leorio holding multiple heavy chairs on his arms. Kurapika was giving two trays, both with twenty kilogram cups stacked on each other and told to stand one legged. Phoenix thought she had it worse though, she was told to stand on her hands with a tray balanced on her feet that held multiple forty kilogram teapots. Gon wasn't allowed to train because of his arm and was scolded by the two older male teens. Phoenix just watched with sympathy to Gon, knowing how the blonde got when someone was injured.

The second day the three that could train had to log around huge boulders around without the help of their arms. Talking about logs, in the evening they were given arm weighs so they could chop logs. It's safe to say that they all slept like logs after training, not knowing that Gon was training by himself.

* * *

It was the third day and they were trying to open the testing gates again but they weren't succeeding anymore than they were the first day.

They were taking a small break when Seaquant walked by, "This will never work. You kids need to wake up" He told the two teens.

"In that case, you should quit watching us and do your job!" Leorio told the man simply with some bite in his tone. The purple haired man scoffed.

"Gon is one of us" Kurapika suddenly spoke, "And he wishes to see his friend. Its only right that we should help him"

That seemed to have hit something in Seaquant before he looked away not saying anything, "Okay, let's give it another shot!" Leorio said pumping himself up.

The two went back to trying to push the gate open still with no luck. "Man, you can't just mindlessly push" The purple haired man said suddenly gaining everyone's attention, "Match your timing. You have to push both doors, with all your strength, simultaneously. Or the gate won't ever open" He said walking away annoyed.

The three not pushing the doors smiled at the younger guard's back. Leorio and Kurapika looked back at the gate with a new sense of determination.

"Match our timing…" Leorio muttered to Kurapika.

"And push both doors with all our strength simultaneously…" The blond finished.

"Okay! One!" Leorio called out.

"Two!" Kurapika then shouted.

"Three!" They yelled together before pushing with all their might together against the doors. After pushing a little bit the doors started to open but due to their surprise they stopped pushing and the doors slammed shut, throwing the two a small distance away.

"Leorio, Kurapika" Gon called out as he and Phoenix ran over to the two teens that were starting to get up panting but they both had smiles adoring their faces.

"It moved" Leorio said simply as Gon smiled brightly at the two while Phoenix was giving them a closed eye grin.

* * *

Early the next morning Kurapika and Leorio were stretching so they could push the doors open. Gon and Phoenix were standing back with Zebro and Seaquant like the other day.

"Hey, why don't you try removing those vest today?" Zebro told the two male teens.

"Oh? Music to my ears!" Leorio exclaimed cheerfully, Kurapika smiling determinedly next to him.

The two took off their weight jackets and all you could see on their faces was relief. The two males dropped their weight jackets onto the ground which caused little craters.

Once the two had stretched out their muscles again now they didn't have any extra weight they walked over to the door with even more determination then before.

"Yeah! Without them, we can definitely open the gate now!" Leorio proclaimed confidently. Placing his hands on the door next to Kurapika Leorio took a deep breath, "Let's do this, Kurapika!"

"Yeah!" The blonde agreed, "One… Two…Three!" The two counted down before pushing, willing the door to open.

It took a few seconds to get the door to open a few inches but unlike last time they kept pushing, not letting it close again like last time.

"Damn it! It won't move any further!" Leorio cursed as the gate stopped moving inward.

Out the corner of her eye Phoenix took note that Gon was starting to take his own weight jacket off but did nothing to stop him.

"One last spurt, Leorio…." Kurapika tried to encourage.

"Got it!" Leorio answered.

Phoenix watched as Gon walked over to the two, moving in between them putting a hand on either doors. Looking down at the ground next to the young girl was Gon's weight jacket and his sling for his now healed broken arm.

The two older teens looked down at Gon in surprise, not expecting him to suddenly appear there. "Gon…" The blonde exclaimed.

"Why are you using your left arm?" Leorio asked seriously, his doctor side coming out.

"It's okay. My arm's healed now" Gon explained to his friends.

"Healed?" Kurapika asked disbelievingly.

"Are you sure, Gon?" Leorio asked still in doctor mode.

"Yep!" Gon answered, "Anyway, we have to push together right?"

Kurapika and Leorio shared a surprised look before looked at the door with determination, "Right, let's push" Kurapika told the two males.

"Here we go!" Leorio agreed before the three staring to count done and push. Very slowly the doors opened inward.

"It's opening…" Seaquant muttered astonished while Zebro and Phoenix smiled proudly at the boy's backs.

Phoenix giggled quietly into her hand when Gon fell forward once the gate was opened. She walked over to her friends hearing Gon comment about opening the gate.

"Yes!" Leorio yelled make Phoenix who had just arrived at his side flinch from the sudden loudness.

"We did it, Gon!" Kurapika cheered.

"Uh-huh" Gon said happily before looking at Phoenix who was giving him a bright smile not needing to say anything.

* * *

The four were now standing in front of the two guards outside the servant's quarters about to continue on their way to getting Killua back.

"Follow the path, and head for the mountain. The mansion should be somewhere up there. I'm ashamed to admit that even though I've worked here for twenty years, I've never been up to the mountain. Sorry that I couldn't be any help" Zebro apologized.

"No, that isn't true. You've both been a huge help" Gon bowed his thanks and the other three nodded their heads in thanks before making their way down the path they were directed by Zebro. "Thank you for everything! Goodbye!" The young boy called out as the four walked away.

While the four were walking Phoenix kept looking around hoping to catch a glimpse of Mike again but wasn't having any luck.

"Is something wrong?" Kurapika asked the girl quietly as the two old friends walked behind Gon and Leorio.

Phoenix glanced at the blonde before looking around again, "I was hoping we could see Mike again" She admitted.

Kurapika smiled gently putting his arm around he shoulders and pulling her close, "I know you love big and dangerous animals and get along with them but I don't think running into Mike again would be a very good idea. He's been trained to attack everyone but his masters, even if we did go through the testing gates there's still a chance that he might attack us still" Kurapika explained to his kindly, knowing that the young girl loved the animals that frighten most people.

Phoenix looked down at the dirt path for a moment, clearing hesitating about what she was going to say next, the blond knowing this gave her a slightly squeeze.

"Mike isn't a hunting dog…" She whispered, "He's more of a certain breed of wolf from a far off place… I don't know here or how I even know this but when I looked at Mike the first night we came here, I… I could just tell…." Phoenix paused feeling Kurapika's searching gaze burring into the side of her head. Looking with confused eyes, "I also heard giggling and barking when I looked at him but I'm not sure why… I know that it was in my head but I don't know why it was there!" She admitted frustrated.

The blonde didn't say anything for a moment, "Maybe… maybe not Mike but his breed is linked to your forgotten past and seeing him triggered some old memories. How about after this when you go train with the Chairman and I go look for some work we can both do some research on the breed of wolf Mike is and where he's from. See if we can find anything out that way" Kurapika suggested just as the four came to a stop near a stone walkway.

It wasn't the stone walkway that made them stop but it was the girl that we standing in the middle of the walkway glaring at the group.

She was rather pretty with dark skin and darker hair that was rather curly and in eight pony tails around her head. She was wearing a butler's uniform but Phoenix doubted that was a fully qualified butler. She was holding a cane with a round head.

"Leave. You're trespassing on private property. I cannot allow you to pass without permission" The girl said emotionally.

Phoenix narrowed her eyes slightly, "We called ahead. And we came through the Testing Gate" Gon explained moving closer to the girl.

"The butlers did not give you permission to enter" The girl counted.

"What do we need to do to get permission?" Gon asked a little angry now, "Like I said I was Killua's friend, but they wouldn't put him on"

Phoenix furrowed her eyebrows slightly when she noticed a small almost unnoticeable glint enter the girl's eyes when Gon spoke of Killua. "I wouldn't know. Because no one has ever received permission" She said carelessly.

Gon puffed his cheeks slightly as a tick mark formed on his temple, "Then we'll have to trespass!"

"I suppose so" She agreed, "In any case, this is where I draw the line" As she said this, using her cane she drew a line in front of her, "If you take one step beyond this line, I'll remove you by force"

The two older teens looked ready to fight and while Phoenix didn't move she was ready to attack if needed but Gon put his hand up stopping them. He started to walk forward on his own but as soon as his foot was on the line the girl smack him across the face with her cane, sending Gon flying.

"Gon!" The three called out as Kurapika and Leorio moved to attack while Phoenix went to help Gon up.

"Leorio, Kurapika" Gon said getting up with Phoenix's help, "Don't interfere. Let me handle this. Ow" He wince as he put a hand on the cheek that was hit. "We don't intend to fight you. We just want to see Killua"

Phoenix watched as the glint entered the girl's eyes again before it was wiped away just as quick, _'There's something that happened between her and Killua…'_ The toxic greened eyed girl thought to herself.

"It doesn't matter what your motives are. I'm simply following orders" She admitted spinning her cane skilfully.

Gon just ignored as he put his fishing pole and bag on the ground before walking over to her again. It ended with her hitting Gon back again.

"You can try all you want" She said smacking his away once more, "I'll never let you pass"

"I will pass… I'm going to see Killua!" Gon yelled out to her.

' _There it is again…'_ Phoenix absentmindly noted to herself. She watched as Gon walked up to the girl just to be smacked again and again and again. It continued on the same way until the sun started to go down and Gon's face was bruised and bleeding, his left eye swollen shut and his left cheek swollen as well.

Phoenix could tell that the girl was starting to lose her nerve. "Stop it! Stay away!" She finally shouted out as Gon went up to her again but even if he was getting to her she still smacked him away. But this time Gon only slid back instead of falling. "Cut it out! Don't you realize how futile this is?! Why don't you stop him? Aren't you his friends?" She yelled out to the three who were just watching but stopped when she took in their determined stares.

"What's the problem?" Gon asked as he started to rise his clenched fist, "I'm just here to see my friend. I'm just here to see Killua. Why do I have to do this?!" He shouted as he punched t stone pillar to the right of him, stepping over the line in the process. "Hey" He said making the frightened girl straighten up, "I crossed the line. Aren't you supposed to hit me?" He asked. The girl looked ready to hit Gon but she didn't have the resolve to follow through with it anymore. "You're different from Mike. You may try to hide your feelings, but you have a heart. When I mentioned Killua, your eyes softened for moment"

There was a paused as the girl started at the cane held firming in her hands, "Please…" She spoke as tears started to fall, "Help Killua-sama-"She was suddenly cut off as she was shot on the side of her head.

Nobody moved, nobody even breathed as they watched her fall to the ground.

"Honestly" As silky voice that sent shivers down Phoenix spine spoke up from the groups left, "What was that servant babbling about? She made it sounds like we're being mean to Killua" It was a lady in an old western style dress and a young feminine boy with purple eyes. The lady was holding a smoking fan. The most curious thing about her was that she had laser where her eyes were, Phoenix nodded as the four friends rushed to the servant girls side. "A worthless apprentice had the nerve to insult us! You must be Gon," The lady spoke up to the group for the first time. "I heard about you from Illumi. Killua knows that you're here. I have a message for you from Kil… _'Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it. But I can't see you right now. Sorry'_ "

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter took forever! Had to rewrite it three time before I was happy with it but here it is**

 **This arc is almost over so I might just make a really long chapter next update, not sure just yet.**

 **Answer from last chapter: My favourite anime character that isn't in Hunter x Hunter is definitely Marco the Phoenix from One Piece… haha**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your least favourite anime so dar?**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

"I have a message for you from Kil… _'Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it. But I can't see you right now. Sorry'_ " The laser eyed lady told Phoenix and her friends. Leorio was looking at the apprentice butlers head wound.

"Is she okay?" Gon asked seriously, ignoring the lady for the moment.

"Yeah. She's only unconscious" Leorio answered just as serious.

Having got his reassurance Gon stood up and faced the lady, Phoenix looked up but stayed crouched next to the apprentice butler and the two older teens.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Killua's mother. This is Kalluto" Killua's mother introduced.

Gon just frowned at the pair, "Why can't Killua come see us?" He asked.

"Because he's in solitary confinement" She answered softly.

Phoenix's hand twitched at the statement, her mind racing twenty miles an hour as she thought at what they could be doing to him in 'solitary confinement'.

"Solitary confinement?" Leorio asked confused.

"Kil stabbed me and his brother before he ran away from home" Killua's mother explained.

"That is the story he told us" Kurapika confirmed with Phoenix nodding in agreement.

Phoenix furrowed her eyebrow as the laser dot in Killua's mother's eye piece seemed to shrink before growing again, "Kil returned because he regretted his actions. And he voluntarily entered solitary confinement. So we do not know when he will leave…" Here she seemed to pause before she started to shrieked, "What? Father! What are you doing? Don't do anything hasty! He's finally returned! Oh why must Father be this way?" Taking a deep breath she suddenly calmed down and started to speak calmly again, "Something has come up. So I bid you farewell"

"Please wait!" Gon quickly called out before she could get away, Phoenix was surprised that she actually stopped and turned to Gon to see what he wanted, "We'll be staying in town for a while. Please let Killua know" He requested.

"Very well. I shall tell him. Goodbye" She actually agreed but Phoenix truly doubted that she would tell him.

"Who are you?" Kalluto asked not following his mother.

"Killua's friends" Phoenix answered before anyone else could.

"Friends…" He mumbled to himself before he followed his mother who had called out to him.

The four just watched them go for a moment before Leorio was the one to break the silence, "I probably shouldn't say it, but these people creepy me out… And I bet they were lying about Killua saying that he can't see us. Gon we can't go back yet. How about we tail them?" Leorio asked.

"Sure, but if we do that, she'll take the blame" Gon explained looking down at the apprentice butler that was still seemed to be unconscious.

"Oh, right…" Leorio mumbled not having thought about that.

"I will take you to the butler's office. There is a phone there that connects to the mansion. If Zeno-sama is the one who answers…" The apprentice told the group of friends.

"Zeno-sama?" Phoenix asked quietly wanting to get as much information as possible.

"Killua-sama's grandfather" She explained before standing up with a little help from Leorio and Gon. She started to lead the group to the butlers office before they could asked anything else.

 **Killua's POV:**

"And guess what Gon said next… He didn't want his legs cut off, but he didn't want to surrender, either!" I chucked explaining Gon's fight to my father. It was strange to have a normal conversation with him but it wasn't that bad, it was good to hear my old man laughing, "He's so self-centred"

"Sounds like an interesting boy" Father commented, "What about your other friend?" He then asked me.

I looked at him a little confused, "Do you mean Phoenix?" I asked warily, not sure what Father would say about her.

"Yes, Phoenix" Father confirmed.

I thought to myself about the girl for a moment, trying to think about where to start, taking a deep breath I began telling Father about how I meet her during first Exam. He seemed really interested when I told him how she was able to sneak up on me while I was running with Gon. I then told him about how Phoenix was the only one to pass the second exam the first try. Then I told him about the Third exam, "It was surprising how well she could fight. I thought that she was just another girl, she's probably stronger than me. I mean she snapped her opponent's neck like it was a twig. She's really quiet and shy I just didn't expect her to be able to do something like that…" I trailed off.

Father was quiet for a moment before he let out a hum, "So you like this girl?" He asked me seriously.

I looked at him a little shocked, "Of course, she's my friend" I told him truthfully.

Father smiled a little to himself, "They sounds like interesting people. Kil" He spoke seriously, once he had my full attention he spoke again, "Do you want to see your friends?" When he asked this I looked down upset, knowing that I wouldn't be able to see them again, "You don't need to hold back. Thinking back, we've never had a father-son chat before. I was raised by my parents to be an assassin. And I raised you the same way. You and I are different. I didn't realize that until you left home" Father paused here as he put his hand on my silver hair that matched his own in colour, "You are my son. But you are your own person. Live as you please. If you get tired, you can come home. I'll ask you one more time. Do you want to see your friends?"

After his little speech I couldn't help it as my eyes widened in surprise but I answered with a nodded and hum of confirmation.

"I understand. You're free now. But..." Here he stopped again but this time he bit his thumb, drawing blood, I knew he was going to asked me to promise him something very important, "Promise me one thing. Never betray your friends. Understand?"

I nodded my head with all the determination I had as I bite my own thumb to draw a drop of blood, placing it against fathers so our blood mixed, "I promise. I'll never betray them. Never" I answered sincerely.

Father nodded in satisfaction before letting me go. I left quickly to go round my things up and to finally meet my friends at the butler's office.

 **Normal POV**

Canary, the apprentice butler, was leading the four friends to the butler's office. The group had been walking for a while now and the sun had set so the forest around them was rather dark but the moon gave them some light to be able to see where they're going.

"Aren't we there yet?" Leorio whined.

"We still have a while to go" Canary answered.

Leorio sighed, "How much walking do we have to do…"

Phoenix turned to Leorio with a slight deadpan, "We can always run to the butlers' office, if you prefer?" She asked quietly with a hint of sass.

Kurapika smirked and Gon chuckled when Leorio shouted at the girl that he'd rather walk.

The forest around the group of five was starting to become foggy, not as foggy as the Swindlers Swamp thankfully, when Canary stopped "There it is" She said looking into the distance.

Looking over in the same direction the group noticed a building with the lights on, it was still quite a bit away but they were close enough to see it finally.

"That building?" Leorio asked, "But it's still pretty far away" He complained.

"Say, Canary. Won't you get into trouble for bringing us here?" Gon asked worried.

"They already know what I'm doing. So I am prepared to take the consequences" Canary replied simply.

"If there's any trouble, I'll take responsibility" Said Gon firmly.

Canary looked back at Gon for a second before looking away, "No. I'm merely serving as a guide for Killua-sama's friends" The apprentice butler said before continuing again.

Gon smiled before leading his friends after her.

After walking for another hour the group of five finally arrived at the butler's office, only to be greeted by five male butlers waiting in a line for them.

"Hey, we finally made it" Leorio commented.

The five stopped in front of the male butlers and when they bowed to the four friends they jumped surprised.

"Welcome" the middle butler with glasses spoke loudly to the four friends.

Quickly the four and Canary were lead inside where Gon was patched up from his encounter with said girl. Now the four were sitting on a couch in front of the butler named Goto. Phoenix and Gon were in the middle with Leorio on Gon's left and Kurapika on Phoenix's right.

"Please forgive the rude reception" Goto apologized, "The lady of the house had asked us to treat you as official guest"

"Then this is not the primary residence?" The blonde male asked looking around the large, spacious room.

It was Canary who answered Kurapika's question, she too have been patched up with just a bandage around her head, "No, this place is for the butlers"

"Well, please make yourselves at home" Goto offered.

"I appreciate the hospitality, but we've come to see Killua. Can you take us to him at once?" Leorio requested.

Phoenix watched carefully as Goto sat up straight not letting her guard down for second. "That won't be necessary. Killua-sama is on his way here" Goto explained to the four friends.

The boys all seemed rather excited, Gon even jumping out his seat but Phoenix only narrowed her eyes not believing the head butlers words for a second because Killua was said to be in 'solitary confinement' so then how did he know they were here.

"Really" Gon shouted over joyed.

"Yes, so please wait a little longer" Goto confirmed.

"That's great news, Gon!" Leorio cheered to Gon, who agreed with a wide grin.

"Now, then…" Goto began gaining the four friends attention and Phoenix to get a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach, something was going to happen, "To simply sit and wait would be dull. How about a game, to pass the time?" The head butler asked.

Phoenix narrowed her eyes slightly but chose to let the boys to decide what they were to do. "A game?" Kurapika asked surprised and a little suspicion about the abrupt change of topic.

Goto simply held up a gold coin between his thumb and index finger before flipping the coin into the air. When the coin came down in front of his chest he used both hands to catch the coin but caught it in his left hand. He then lifted his hands so the four friends could see the back of his hands, "Which hand holds the coin?" He asked.

"The left hand" All four answered.

"Correct" Goto said presenting the coin that was in his left hand, "So I'll move more quickly this time" And he did, he used both hands to caught the coin again but it was much faster but luckily Phoenix saw what hand he caught it is. "Well? What hand?" He asked.

"Left again" Gon answered for everyone"

Goto presented he coin to the four friends a little impressed, "Marvellous" he other butlers clapped lightly, "Then shall I try harder this time"

What happened next shocked the four as they watched Goto move his arms around wildly in front of him so his arms looked like they were whips and all blurred together. A few seconds later he stopped and showed his hands to the fours again, "Well? Which hand?

Leorio put his hand on his chin trying to think quickly, "I'm not positive, but I'd guess he right" Leorio blindly guessed.

"You see… I have known Killua-sama his entire life" Goto started to explain in a deadly tone that matched the aura around him, "I dare say that I care for him as though he were my own. In all honesty, I must despise you for trying to take him away. Well? Which hand? Answer" He asked ignoring the fact that the four friends tensing up ready to defend themselves in needed.

"Left hand" Kurapika answered seriously.

Goto opened his left hand to show that the coin in his hand was bent from the pressure of his clenched fist.

"His lady mother could barely speak... she must be heartbroken, having to watch him leave. I cannot forgive it. By the time Killua-sama arrives, a decision will be reached. I shall test you in my own way. You have no choice" At this the rest of the butlers but Canary pulled out a knife each. One of them held one to Canary's throat, threatening to slit her throat.

"Canary" Gon called out worried as Phoenix went to stand up, ready to defend her friends and Canary.

"This is her punishment for having brought you here, against her orders. I shall explain the rules. If one of you answers incorrectly, that person is out of the games. Should you all be disqualified, I shall tell Killua-sama that you left. And that he will never see you again" Goto explained while never breaking eye contact with the only girl of the four friends, she was the one who he had to watch carefully for an attack, he knew that.

"Killua is…" Gon started but was interrupted by Goto.

"Silence! Your lives hand by a thread. Now, answer my question" with that Goto started to move his arms around quicker than before. When he caught his coin his hands were smoking. "Which hand?" The boys looked at each other in slight panic, not having seen what hand he caught the coin in.  
"Don't take too long. You have three seconds to answer. Hey… After three seconds have passed, slit her throat" Goto address the one holding Canary at knife point.

"Wait! Left hand!" Leorio quickly answered.

"I pick the right hand!" Gon went next with Kurapika and Phoenix picking the same.

Goto opened his hands to show that the coin was in his left hand. "One disqualified" Goto said looking at Leorio now that Phoenix had seated herself again when they started getting serious. Goto flipped the coin into the air again like last time but his arms went faster again. "Which hand?"

The three youngest of the group looked at each other and nodded, "I choose the right hand" Phoenix said with Kurapika agreeing with her.

"I pick the left" Gon answered.

The coin was in his left hand, "It was in my left hand. Only one remains now" Goto spoke "Here I go!" He flipped the coin into the air.

"One second!" Gon suddenly yelled out making Goto catch the coin.

"What is it?" He asked a little curious, "If you're trying to buy time, I'll kill one of your friends" He said nodding to the butler standing behind the fours friends. A knife was quickly pressed to Phoenix's throat who sat calmly, having no doubt that Gon will win.

"Phoenix!" Her friends yelled out worried. Kurapika turned and glared hatefully at Goto for putting the person closest to him in danger.

"Leorio, lend me your knife" Gon demanded of the eldest teen. "Don't worry. I won't use it for anything stupid, not when Phoenix is being held hostage" Gon explained as he took the bandage off his eye. When Leorio gave him his knife he used it to cut across his eye, letting it bleed out to reduce the swelling and letting him see through both eyes. Using a bit of tape he cover the cut before looking at Goto with determination, "Okay! Now I can see. Give me your best!" He challenged.

Goto scoffed slight before flipping the coin and catching it after a bunch of blurry movements. "Which hand?"

"Left hand" Gon answered straight away.

"Not bad" Goto complimented, opening his hand to show that Gon was correct, "In that case…" He stood up and the two butlers next to him moved closer so that when Goto flipped the coin into the air they also started to move their arms wildly too. "Who now holds the coin?" The head butler asked while Phoenix, Kurapika and Leorio sat in stunned silence.

Gon was quiet for a moment before smirking and pointing behind him with his thumb, "The person right behind me" he was right, the butler behind the four who was holding his knife to Phoenix's throat opened his free hand to show the coin sitting in his palm.

Goto smirked impressed before nodded to the coin holder and he removed the knife at Phoenix's throat. While all the butlers were clapping, Kurapika pulled Phoenix close to him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

At that moment a door behind the couch the four friends were seating on opened, "Goto, is Gon and Phoenix here yet?" A familiar voice filled the room.

"Killua!" Gon called out as he stood up and faced the sapphire eyed boy as the other three turned and gave Killua excited smiles.

"Oh! You're here, Gon, Phoenix! Along with… Kurapika?" Killua asked a little uncertain.

"I'm just an afterthought?" The blonde asked depressed while Phoenix smiled cheekily at him.

"Liorio!" Killua then said ignoring what Kurapika said.

"Leorio!" Leorio shouted annoyed.

"It's been a while. I can't believe you came. What happened? Your face is a wreck!" Killua mentioned in a teasing tone to Gon.

"Yours isn't any better!" Gon teased back making both Killua and Gon laugh. Phoenix watch the two with a soft sweet smile.

"Hey, Goto" Killua then addressed his head butler once the now five friends where all standing up ready to leave, "I told you to let me know as soon as they arrived. What were you doing?" He asked.

Goto bowed to his master, "Forgive me. I had them participate in a little game" Goto answered.

"A game?" Killua inquired.

"It was nothing more than a poor joke" Goto spoke with a smile as he stood up straight. "I apologize for any aggravation. Did you enjoy yourselves?" The head butler asked.

Leorio smiled crookedly while rubbing his head, "That was really good acting…"

"What? Did they try something?" Killua asked.

Phoenix shook her head softly, "No, they were entertaining us" She explained softly to the ex-assassin.

"Really? Well, whatever. Anyway, let's go somewhere else. Anywhere else, right now. If we stay here, my mother will give us an earful!" Killua said to his friends annoyed. When the other agreed he turned back to Goto, "Hey, and Goto. Listen up. I don't care what Mother says. Don't follow me" He ordered.

Goto bowed again, "Understood. Please take care" Goto submitted.

"Gon, Phoenix, let's go. Bye" With that the five left. Phoenix noticed Gon staying behind but didn't wait for him, knowing he'd catch up once he was finished talking to either Goto or Canary.

* * *

The next day the five reunited friends were walking around the town that was near Killua's place. Phoenix had bought herself a bag now that Kurapika and she were going to be parting way for a while, she need to be able to carry her own things. Her bag was a simple black backpack with a bunch of silver zippers.

Kurapika was currently explaining how Goto had tricked Gon last night when he stayed behind to talk to him.

"I'm fairly certain he only used that trick on the final turn. Goto hates cheating, even if it's just a game" Killua explained when Gon got annoyed.

"That's even worse!" Gon moaned.

* * *

The group of five were on the train making their way to the airport where they will separate for a while.

"What? You're here on a tourist visa?" Killua asked in disbelief, when Gon confirmed this he continued, "Didn't you pass the Hunter Exam? You could've used your Hunter License. It lets you stay in other countries for as long as you want" Killua explained.

"That's what we said" Leorio whined.

"I already decided. I'm not using the license until I've finished what I need to do" Gon explained.

"What do you have to do?" Phoenix asked softly.

Reaching into his pocket Gon pulled out a #44 badge that used to be Hisoka's, "The tag that Hisoka gave me! I'll return it to Hisoka when I punch him in the face! Until I do that, I won't use my Hunters License. I can't go back to Whale Island, either" Gon explained.

"Hmm… So, where's Hisoka?" Killua asked.

"Uh…" Gon muttered unsure.

"Thought so…." Leorio commented.

"I know where he is, Gon" Kurapika admitted.

Phoenix watched Kurapika carefully, picking up quickly that he was tense and trying to hide it.

"Huh? Really?" Gon asked.

"How?" Leorio asked then.

"He told me" Kurapika told them honestly. Phoenix didn't react but she had a pretty good idea about when this all happened.

"So that's what he said…" Leorio guessed.

"No," Phoenix was the one who answered, "It was after the orientation, wasn't it?" The young blackette asked seriously.

"Yes" Kurapika nodded.

"But it's still related, right?" Leorio asked both Phoenix and Kurapika but Phoenix only shrugged, having a rough idea what it was about but knowing it was up to Kurapika to tell them or not.

"I suppose so" Kurapika vaguely answered.

"I've been itching to ask… What did Hisoka say to you?" The older teen asked quietly.

Kurapika looked up at him with a deadly serious face, "He told me… _'I have information for you regarding the spider.'_ "

"The Phantom Troupe?" Leorio asked.

"I do not recall mentioning the Phantom Troupe to Hisoka. So either he overheard our conversation during the first stage, or he heard it from another" Kurapika said.

"The spider is the Phantom Troupe's symbol, so those familiar with the organization refer to the Troupe as such" Phoenix explained to the three that didn't understand.

Kurapika nodded, "I was interested in his information"

"I see…" Leorio mumbled, thinking about something.

"After the orientation, I asked him about it. _'I shall await you in Yorknew City, on September 1st."_

"Then you've still got over half a year. What's happening in Yorknew City?" Gon asked.

Leorio snapped his fingers gaining the rest of the group's attention, "They'll hold the world's largest auction" He announced.

"Correct. From September 1st through September 10th, there will be an auction for unusual items, rare goods, and national treasures from around the world. The event attracts all manner of nasty folk who come looking to satisfy their greed. It's the biggest gathering of money in the world" Kurapika explained.

"Not to mention that in the streets you have a heap of stalls selling goods the sellers made or things they want to sell. It's really fun, Kurapika and I went two years ago!" Phoenix told the group excitedly who smiled at the young girl.

"So the Troupe will be there?" Leorio asked getting back on topic.

"They're a group of bandits" Phoenix told the older teen simply before Kurapika took over.

"They would not let this chance escape. So on that day, Hisoka will be somewhere in Yorknew City" Kurapika told Gon.

"Okay. September 1st. Got it. Thanks" Gon said grateful.

* * *

It didn't take long after that for the group to arrive at the airport. They were outside standing in a circle with slightly sad smiles on their face.

"Then I shall depart now" Kurapika told everyone. "We managed to see Killua again, so I'm finished here. I'll need money to participate in the auction. So I shall search for a patron to employ me as a Hunter" The blonde told him friends, none of who missed that Kurapika only said 'I' and didn't mention Phoenix once.

"Really… I guess I should go home, then" Leorio said next.

"You, too?" Gon asked.

"I haven't given up my dream of becoming a doctor. If I'm accepted to medical school, I can use this to pay the ridiculous fee" He explained holding up his Hunters License, "I'll have to go back and start cramming.

"Uh-huh, good luck" Gon said before turning to Phoenix, "So I guess you're going with Kurapika then?" He asked a little sad.

Phoenix smiled sadly at her black hair friend before shaking her head, "No, I'm going to go and train with someone. Chairman Netero offered to train me after we got Killua back so I'm going back to the Hunter's hotel to meet him again" She explained as the three boys that didn't know this looking liked they were about to lose their jaws from how long they were hanging.

"T-t-t-the CHAIRMAN?" Leorio shouted shocked, never in a million years would he have expected that.

Gon and Killua didn't even know what to say. To be trained by the chairman himself is an amazing thing and probably never happened.

Phoenix nodded her head, "Yeah he said there was something special about me and that he believes it's best that he trains me himself"

After the shocking announcement the group of five went into the airport and the three who were leaving got their tickets.

"Until we meet again" Leorio said once the five where standing together again.

"Yes, that will be…" Kurapika trailed off.

"September 1st, in Yorknew City" The five all said together before Phoenix hugged Leorio around the waist.

Leorio was so surprised that he just stood there as she moved onto Gon who was more than happy to return the hug. When she hugged Killua he went as stiff as a bored with ruby red cheeks making Phoenix giggled before she threw herself at Kurapika and held onto him for dear life.

"I'm going to miss you so much Kura!" Phoenix mumbled with tears in her eyes. The other three looked away, giving them a little privacy, knowing how close the two were.

Kurapika chuckled sadly returning the hug, just as tightly, "I'll miss you too Nix. The next time we see each other you better be stronger" He said with a few tears in his own eyes.

Phoenix nodded as a few teardrops rolled down her cheeks but Kurapika wiped them away before giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Taking a deep breath Phoenix let go of Kurapika and gave him a watery grin before waving to her friends one last time and made her way to the gate that she needed to go to alone.

Even though it really hurt to say goodbye to her friends, even if it was for a short while she knew that she need to do this. She needed to become stronger so she could protect them and help Kurapika take the Phantom Troupe down. If only she knew what was going to happen then maybe she wouldn't have accepted the Chairman's offer.

* * *

 **A/N: I know I've been gone for so long but I've been really busy with School and had a few family issues that took priority but I'm back now I'm on holidays**

 **The arc is finally over and now we move onto Phoenix training with the chairman and meeting a certain someone ;)**

 **Answer from last chapter: My least favourite anime so far would have to be Yu-Gi-Ho I don't even know why though hahaha**

 **Question of the chapter: Are you a cat person or a dog person (Didn't know what else to ask)**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

It's been 4 days since Phoenix separated from her friends, she was currently in a taxi on her way to the Hunters Hotel. The road was clear unlike before when she and her friends were going to go and rescue Killua.

The young girl was on the phone that she had bought back in the town near Killua's house so she could keep in contact with her friends, although since Gon didn't have a phone he was going to share with Killua whenever she called to see how they are.

At the moment she was browsing the internet, reading an article by someone name Kite about the tiger species 'Camp Tiger'. Apparently, the Camp Tiger has the appearance of a normal tiger but they have a long, sharp and narrow horn attached to their head which they use to cook raw meat over a fire.

' _How fascinating. I would love to see a Camp Tiger myself one day and I wouldn't mind meeting this Kite-san as well'_ Phoenix thought to herself after she finished reading the article.

It was at that moment the taxi stopped in front of the hunter's hotel. Quickly paying the driver Phoenix hopped out the car with her backpack before making her way into the lobby. She walking up to the receptionist who had short blonde hair in a grey uniform.

"Excuse me" Phoenix spoke loud enough to get her attention and when the lady turned to her with a motherly smile she continued, "I'm looking for Chairman Netero, he asked me to meet him here"

The receptionist didn't say anything for a moment but observed the young girl in front of her before nodding, "You must be Phoenix" Said girl nodded her confirmation, "The Chairman left this note for you" She said handing the young girl the written note addressed to her.

Taking the note Phoenix unfolded it and started to read the neat handwriting, _'Dear Phoenix-chan, to begin your training you must find me in the forest that is a mile away from the Hunter's Hotel to the north. We will be training in the forest so bring what you will need. Signed Chairman Netero P.S. To find me use all of your senses not just sight'_ Once Phoenix finished reading the letter she sighed as her head dropped little.

The receptionist giggled slightly at the young girl's disgruntled expression, "He can be a bit of a hand full the best of times. If there is anything I can help with, please don't be shy" She said sweetly.

Phoenix gave the blonde a small smile back, "What would I need to bring if I was the travel to the forest North of here and train for six months?" Phoenix asked.

The short haired blond thought for a moment before snapping her fingers, "I have just the things, I'll be back in a moment" She said before slipping into the back room where she came out five minutes later a bigger bag for the young girl that looked to be full of supplies. "The Chairman left this for me to give to you when you got here. It has food, water, some clothes and a few other things you might need" She said giving the bag to Phoenix who opened it to see just enough room left to put in her own bag so she wouldn't have to carry both bags on her back.

Looking up at the blonde with a grateful face she bowed, "Thank you so much for your help… um…" Phoenix trailed off realizing that she didn't know the blondes name.

"Oh, silly me my name is Shaylin" She said with a sweet giggle.

"Thank you, Shaylin, I must be going. Don't want to keep the Chairman waiting any longer" Phoenix waved as she pulled the backpack onto her back before walking out of the lobby with Shaylin waving after her.

Getting to the forest was easy but trying to find the Chairman was close to impossible! Phoenix had been looking all over for him all day and it was now sunset. Looking high and lower and she couldn't find him, she never knew it was going to be so hard to find one person.

With a sigh the young girl dropped her bag as she plopped down on a rock next to a lake for a quick break before going to look for the Chairman again.

With her head in her hands she took a few deep breaths. She didn't even realise that she had closed her eyes until she started to feel the presence of another about a mile or two away from behind her.

Snapping her head up she turned around but tried to focus on the presence she was feeling, not even noticing the slight aura around her as she concentrated. She couldn't tell who it was but she knew that they were strong, way stronger than her but she didn't feel any malice intent coming from them.

Phoenix could feel a pull in her stomach that was telling her to go to the presence and one who relied a lot on her instincts followed her gut. She started toward them but with weary steps. It didn't take as long as she thought to get close to the presence.

Making sure that she was well hidden and silent she climbed a tree to observe what was happening around her easier.

As she gazed upon the clearing she found she smiled widely when she saw just who was standing in the middle of the clearing. It was Chairman Netero.

Now knowing who the presence belongs to Phoenix jumped down from the tree she was perched in a landed a few meters away from the Chairman who grinned at the young girl.

"Congratulations Phoenix-chan, you have passed the first part of your training and a lot quicker than I thought too" The Chairman congratulated the young toxic green-eyed girl.

Phoenix smiled gently as she bowed, "Thank you Chairman sir" She said quietly.

The Chairman smiled as he stroked his beard. It was silent in the clearing before Netero began, "I will be teaching you a skill that all Hunters must have, it is called _Nen"_

"Nen?" Phoenix parroted with her head tilted in confusion, having never heard of the term before.

Netero nodded before sitting down and gesturing Phoenix to do the same, "Nen is one's Aura. Do you know what Aura is?" He asked wanting to know what his new student did and didn't know.

The young girl nodded her head, "Aura is the life energy produced by all living bodies vital for survival. Aura from all parts of the body has a tendency to flow together. Producing one mass of energy. This happens without the individual's awareness" Phoenix explained.

The chairman nodded impressed that the girl before him was so knowledgeable about something so in depth. "That is correct, but if one was to use all their aura, it would be the equivalent to using up all their life energy and they will most likely die. There are pores or point throughout the body that allows aura or nen to flow through, these are call ' _Aura Nodes'_. Opening and then learning to control these nodes is the first step to becoming a nen user. We don't have to open yours because they are already open and you've already master the first step of controlling the nodes to keep your aura inside you and not let it leak out. Tell me do you mediate often?" Netero suddenly asked.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow at the seemingly random question but decide that it was important otherwise the chairman wouldn't have asked her, "Yes I do, whenever I get hurt or stressed I mediate it heals my wonders quicker than a normal person and it helps to clear my head" She responded truthfully.

Netero nodded as he stroked his beard, "I see, then that explains how your nodes are awaken so early in your life. There are two ways to open your nodes, the first is the safest way which is to meditate, for some they open rather quickly like yours seem to have but for some it takes years of intense mental training to open their nodes through meditation"

"What's the second method?" Phoenix asked curiously

"By force" At the slightly shocked and confused expressed on his young students face Netero explained deeper, "Opening one's node through force is to push your aura into another which then open their own aura nodes and allows them to use nen" Netero smiled when Phoenix nodded in understanding"

"So, what do you call the first step?" Phoenix asked curiously.

The chairman was obviously happy that the young girl had asked that and was interested in what she was going to learn. "There are Four Major Principles when it comes to Nen: Ten, Zetsu, Ren and Hatsu. Ten is where you open your pores and allow your aura to flow through and around you in a controlled manner. Zetsu is the opposite of ten, it closes all the nodes and allows your presence harder to sense but this can be nullified by a technique called En, but we'll get to that later on. Ren is a direct application of ten. It focuses on the outputting a higher amount of aura then ten, projecting it outwards explosively and increasing the size and intensity of it, it also makes the user stronger. And finally, Hatsu is the release or transmission of one's aura so it can be projected to carry out a certain function. Its qualities are influenced by but not restricted to the nen user's natural category. In essence Hatsu is one's personal expression of Nen that creates a special and unique paranormal ability, which is colloquially called a nen ability. Those are the Four Major Principles of Nen"

Phoenix sat in silence for a moment to allow her brain the absorb all the new information she was just given. It was defiantly a lot to take into account but she's pretty sure she understood everything. "Okay so if I've mastered Ten already then I need to move onto Zetsu and work on hiding my presence as affectively as possible?" Phoenix asked. When Netero nodded happy that she understood she spoke again, "What do I have to do?" She asked and got a sinking feeling in her stomach at the twinkle that entered her new masters eyes.

It was official, the chairman was insane. For Phoenix's zetsu training he divided it into three stages, for the first stage he has her sneaking into bear caves undetected, and if she's spotted she needs to run away as fast as she can and hide in plain sight. If the bear doesn't find her then it's a pass. Her next stage of zetsu training was a lot less dangerous thank goodness, she had to sneak up on deer. This was easier, they only ran away twice before she was able to walk right in the middle of the herd and to the other side without them noticing her so that was a pass.

The final stage of Phoenix's zetsu training was to hide from Netero-sensei for a minimum of an hour while using zetsu. If he found her then the timer would start again, the good thing about this stage was that she didn't have to hide in plain sight like during the first stage, she was allowed to hide anywhere with the forest being her only boundary. They started this stage around noon and the clock had to be restarted three times. The first-time Netero found his student in the first ten minutes then the first half hour. She was finally able to pass the third and final stage the third try, even if it was barely, Netero-sensei found her a minute after the hour was finished. It took her a full day to have zetsu done packed.

That was yesterday, today the two focusing on ren. All she had to do it push her aura out of her body all at once in a burst of power. It was a little more tiring then Phoenix first thought it'd be but she believes that was only because sensei had her using ren for as long as she could before she collapsed or lost concentration.

The first time the young girl could only lasted two and a half minutes but sensei said it was good for a first timer, after a rest she tried again, she lasted five minutes.

When Phoenix was about to start her third try sensei spoke up, "Alright Phoenix-chan to pass your ren training you need to be able to hold your ren for half an hour. I need to go to a meeting at the Hunters Hotel so if you finish your training before I come back you can continue to improve your time or you can do whatever you please but you're not allowed to leave this forest, understood?" He said to Phoenix.

Phoenix nodded, "Yes sensei. How long will you be?" She asked curiously.

"It will be a few hours but I'll return before night fall with dinner" Netero grinned as he puts his hand on his students head before heading off to the hunter's hotel with Phoenix watching him go.

Once her sensei had past the tree line of the clearing that the two were camping in she restarted her ren training.

It was midday when Phoenix was finally half way through her training and taking a lunch break when she sensed someone coming towards her. Standing up and facing the direction the presence was coming from Phoenix kept her body relaxed but ready to fight if needed.

Soon a short male came into the clearing and stopped when he saw Phoenix. He had black mid-length hair and was wearing a black baggy long sleeved top that covered his whole body. He also has a skull bandana covering his mouth.

Phoenix didn't say anything but just stared into his narrowed grey eyes curious about who this man was but she was smart enough not to get close to him, she could feel in her gut that he wasn't someone that she could win against, not yet at least. "Who are you?" She asked strongly in a louder than normal voice.

The man tsked, "Like I'm going to tell a brat like you" He remarked rudely.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow at him before shrugging, if he didn't want to give her his name then that's fine she just won't tell him hers. "Since you didn't tell me your name I highly doubt you'd tell me anything at all then" She voiced.

"You're a smart brat" The man mumbled, "What's a little girl doing out here alone?" He asked mockingly.

Phoenix narrowed her eyes a little annoyed at being belittled by this strange man, "I pretty sure whatever I'm doing has nothing to do with you" She remarked.

It was the man's turn to narrow his eyes, "Rude too it seems"

"Look, do you want something because I'm kind of busy here" Phoenix said just wanting to get back to training.

"Busy doing what?" The man asked again.

Phoenix sighed, "If I tell you will you leave?" She asked slightly hopeful.

The man tilted his head slightly and Phoenix could see his cheeks spread a bit so she knew he was smirking at her. "That depends on what you're doing little girl" He replied.

Phoenix hid her irritation at the nickname the man seemed to have given her, "I'm training, so now you know please leave because I'd like to very much get back to my training" She sighed.

The hummed to himself as he came over to the campsite and sat on a rock that Phoenix and Netero use as seats. Phoenix didn't do anything but watch him confused.

"What kind of training are you doing?" He asked then with curiosity twisting into his voice.

Phoenix watched him for a few seconds before answering slowly, not sure if the man knew what she was talking about, "I'm training in nen"

The man seemed to perk up a bit, "So you're a nen user. How good are you?" He asked seeming to be looking for something as he observed her.

Phoenix blinked, _'So he knows what nen is then'_ She thought to herself, "I'm only a beginner, I started my training a day ago" She told him honestly.

The man sighed a little disappointed it seems, "So you know only the basics, how boring" He mocked making Phoenix frown, "What do you know so far?" He asked interested.

Phoenix paused, "Ten, Zetsu and Ren" She explained. "My sensei is having me train my ren right now"

"Show me" He demanded.

Phoenix didn't know what compelled her to compile to the stranger's command but she did, she pushed her aura out as strong as she could like she's been doing all day, and watched as the man stood up before circling her.

When he came to stand in front of her again she stopped, "You're not too bad little girl, for a brat"

"Thanks, I guess" Phoenix mumbled quietly.

"But, you could do better. Don't try and push it out so strongly, while ren is offensive it doesn't need to be so wild, like yours is" He advised before releasing his own ren. Phoenix's eyes widened at how powerful it was but she noted that his wasn't wild like hers, just like he said. "See brat. Now try again but just let it come naturally, don't force it like you have been"

Phoenix did as she was told and pushed her aura out and instead of making it as strong as possible she just let her instincts take control. Straight away she could tell the difference, her ren didn't feel any weaker but since she wasn't forcing it so much it wasn't as wild and it was a lot easier to hold.

"Good job little girl" The man smirked again before sitting down again and watching the young girl train, "The names Feitan by the way"

Phoenix smiled bright at Feitan, "I'm Phoenix, nice to meet you"

 **A/N: I know it's been SOOOOOO long but I've had a heap school work, family issues and personal issues that I needed to sort out before I could complete this chapter but thankfully everything has been sorted out and I'm back, I am sorry that it took so long though.**

 **Well Feitan has finally come into the picture and yes, he is a little OOC but guess what? It's my fanfiction, so I'm going to portray him in any way I want to so don't get mad at me because of that.**

 **I'd like to say a special thank you to** PrincessOfTheNight01, **She'll know what this is for.**

 **Answer from last chapter: I am a dog person, I love dogs more than people!**

 **Question of the chapter: How many have read the Manga?**

 **If you go onto my profile you'll find a poll for this story and I would love it if you all voted. It's what animal friend Phoenix should have. I'll let you know now that she won't get the animal until the York New City Ark.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Feitan was strange to say the least. He was mostly quiet apart from when he's demanding her to do something with her training, whether she has to do something a certain way or she has to work harder. He never asks her to do anything just commands her to do it.

Of course he doesn't stay with her and the chairman, he goes and does whatever he does until the chairman goes off to a meeting or run any errands that he needs to do, it's only then does Feitan come and visit her.

She had questioned him about it but he just told her to shut up and get back to training so she guessed that he didn't want anyone to know he was there.

Currently Phoenix was learning a new technique that the chairman taught her, Gyo. Gyo is basically an advanced application of Ren where it is focused on a certain body part but all Phoenix had to do was focus it on her eyes so she can see Nen that has been hidden with In, an advanced application of Zetsu.

The young girl was given three full days to master this technique while the Chairman went to fix a problem at the Hunter's association. Luckily Feitan was around to help her with her training, even if he still hasn't told her why he was helping her or sticking around.

Pushing aura to only one part of her body was a little bit challenging but once she got the hang of it, it started to get easier. Feitan was making shapes out of his own Nen and hiding them with In, like letters or number, sometimes shapes. The two have made a sort of game out of the training, Feitan will step further away every ten correct answers she gets. But if she let her Gyo go or answered incorrectly then the two had to restart. Phoenix's highest score is ten meters before she lets her Gyo go.

"Again!" Feitan commanded while Phoenix panted for breath when she once again let her Gyo go.

"Can we *pant* take a break?" The young tired girl asked finally getting her breath back.

Feitan just glared until Phoenix sighed in defeat before starting to use Gyo once again. This time she was able to beat her record and get fifth teen meters before falling to her knees exhausted.

Feitan just walked over to her before sitting on a rock that was close by. "You could do better" He started before pausing, "But you're getting there little girl"

Phoenix nodded her head now used to the nickname he has given her before laying down for a rest that Feitan was allowing, finally. "Thank you Feitan-san. We've still got one more day before Netero-san comes back from what he's doing at the Hunter Association… Do you think I'm going to pass this stage of my Nen training? I mean I can't hold Gyo for very long, not like you can" Phoenix asked with doubt colouring her voice.

Feitan didn't say anything for a moment before looking down at the girl who's unknowingly keeping him entertained for the time being, "You'll pass little girl, you might not have completely mastered this technique just yet but you aren't half bad and the reason I'm better then you is because I'm stronger"

Phoenix just stared at him blankly before rolling her eyes and giggling, "Oh, of course Feiten-sama how could I, a lowly peasant, forget of your great strength?" Phoenix questions with thick sarcasm in her tone.

Feitan just stared at her before standing up and flashing to her side where he kicked her gently in the side making her roll away from him laughing. Hearing the young girl laugh brought a small smile to the narrow-eyed boys faces before he could stop it. As much as it pained him to admit he was beginning to enjoy the toxic green eyed girls company. He was even beginning to consider taking her with him when he leaves.

Once Phoenix had calmed down the two started training again.

Phoenix had passed her Gyo training if only just, she still had to practice it a lot more before she masters it but the Chairman was happy with where she was at the moment.

Right now, the teacher student duo was sitting in front of each other with a wine glass full of water and a small single leaf floating on the top in between them.

"Now Phoenix-chan, today we start on your Hatsu training, but before we begin we need to know what type of Nen you have?" The chairman began.

Phoenix tilted her head to the side with a confused look on her face, "Type of Nen?" She asked.

Netero nodded, "There are five common types and there is one rare type. The common types are; Enhancer, Transmuter, Conjurer, Manipulator and Emitter. An Enhancer can strengthen themselves and objects better and more effectively then the other types. A transmuter can change their aura to something else. A conjurer can create objects out of their Nen. A manipulator can control animate and inanimate objects. And finally, an emitter can push their aura away from themselves" The chairman explained.

Phoenix took a moment to let that all sink in before asking her next question, "And what's the rare type of Nen?" She asked.

"A specialist, it's a unique and very rare type. A specialist is someone who doesn't fit in with the other five common types, they are can master every type while the common types you can only master your own type to 100% while the others you will never be able to completely master" The chairman explain seriously.

Phoenix nodded in understand the hidden meaning in what her sensei told her, _'It's highly unlikely you will be a specialist so don't be disappointed if you're not'_ "How do you discover what your type is? Does it have to do with this wine glass?" Phoenix asked curiously.

The chairman nodded before putting his hands on either side of the glass and letting his Nen flow in between his hands. Suddenly the water started to increase and over flow over the rim of the glass. Phoenix gasped in surprise, not having expected that.

Netero chuckled at his students bewildered face, "If the volume of the water changes it means that you are an enhancer like myself" He explained as he stopped and took his hands back. "Now Phoenix-chan, I want you to do the same thing I just did and we'll find out what your Nen type is"

Phoenix took a deep breath before putting hands next to the glass like her sensei did and let her Nen flow in between her hands. Nothing happened for a second before a small trail of smoke started to rise from the left in the middle. Shocked Phoenix took her hands back quickly before looking up at the Chairman for an explanation on what just happen.

Netero looked impressed as he watched the leaf stop smoking to reveal the sides of the singed leaf. It was a few moments before the chairman looked up at his student with a proud smile, "You're a specialist my dear. Congratulations"

Phoenix blink at him before nodded in awe, she was one of the rare Nen users who is a specialist. A grin suddenly broke out on her face as the information finally sunk it, she couldn't wait to tell Feitan. "So now that I know what Nen type I am, what do I do?" She asked as she sobered up.

"I will give you a week to improve your Hatsu using the wine glass to see how much you can improve in that time limit. I need to go and check in with the Hunters Association and make sure that my vice-chairman is running everything correctly. Will you be okay out here by yourself?" He asked concerned because while he has left her in the forest on her own he was still close enough that he could get to her if needed nor has he left her on her own for so long since he started to train her.

Phoenix just nodded her head, "I'll be okay, I'm a lot stronger now and I'll just be focusing mostly on my training so there really isn't anything to worry about sensei" She didn't say it but she knew that she wouldn't be alone, Feitan will come and watch over her when the Chairman leaves, not that she would tell him that.

With that the chairman collected his things before making his way out of the forest. For five minutes Phoenix worked on her Hatsu before she sighed.

"I wonder what my friends are doing?" She mumbled to herself, "Maybe I should give them a quick call"

Nodding to herself Phoenix went over to her tent to grab her phone that she left in there for safe keeping. Sitting in front of her tent her fingers skimmed over her contacts before coming to the first name she wanted.

Clicking call she put the phone to her ear before waiting for them to pick up. After severely rings the phone was finally answered.

"Hello?" The male voice spoke.

The toxic green-eyed girl smiled softly to herself before replying, "Kurapika, hey"

"Phoenix?!" He asked surprised, "I haven't heard from you in so long, is everything okay?" He asked frantically.

Phoenix giggled to herself at Kurapika's proactive side coming out, she really has missed it. "I'm sorry I didn't call earlier, trainings been rather demanding is all" She paused thinking about the things both the chairman and Feitan put her through. "Everything is fine, I'm taking a little break at the moment and thought I'd call everyone up to see how they were" Phoenix said softly.

Phoenix could hear the smile in Kurapika's voice when he spoke next, "It's okay, I'm happy to know that you've been training so hard. It's been a little hectic with me. I went to an agency to see if I could find work with someone who will be at the auction in York New City but they said I was lacking something and even though I passed the Hunter's Exam that my Exam hasn't finished yet. I wasn't sure what they meant until I bumped into someone who is now teaching me to use Nen" Kurapika said before Phoenix stopped him.

"Wait Nen? You're learning Nen too?" She asked surprised that she wasn't the only one who was learning to use her aura but glad that she won't be the only on out of all her friends who would know and understand it.

"So, you're learning Nen as well. How far have you come along, I've just started learning Ren" Kurapika asked curiously.

"I've just started my Hatsu training. I've master Ten, Zetsu, Ren and I can use Gyo but I still need to work on it but now I'm onto my Hatsu training" Phoenix told him.

"Gyo?" Kurapika asked, "That's good, I'm proud that you've come so far Nix"

"You'll learn about it soon I think. Thank you, Kura, that means a lot to me" She replied.

There was a rustling and voice that she couldn't make out on the other line before Kurapika sighed in regret, "I'm sorry Phoenix but I need to go. I need to get back to my training. I'll call you once I've finished my training"

Phoenix frowned sadly, "Oh okay, I'll talk to you later. Bye" She said as she hung up and sighed.

Putting her hands in her head she held back the tears that were threatening to fall down her cheeks. She didn't realise until just then how much she missed her best friend, never before had she missed him because she never had the chance to miss him. The two were always together but now that they're hunters Phoenix realised, the two won't be seeing each other very much anymore.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, the young girl let a few of her tears fall before wiping them away and standing up. "No! This isn't the time to be crying! I need to train, I need to master this or I'll be no good to Kurapika at all!" She said determinedly before going back to the wine glass and continuing her training, completely forgetting to call her other friends.

She was so focused that she didn't hear the quiet footsteps that were coming towards her, only when they were right in front of her did she notice them, and that was only because she saw the persons shoes.

Looking up Phoenix locked eyes with narrowed grey eyes that belonged to her newest friend. Feitan had arrived.

"Have you been crying little girl?" He asked slightly mocking.

Phoenix sighed before looking back down at the wine glass, "A little," She admitted, "But I'm okay now. I don't have time to sit and cry!"

Feitan didn't say anything just sat across from her, watching her through the slight smoke that was between the two from the leaf floating in the water. "You've started on your Hatsu training I see" He broke the silence, "You're a specialist" He didn't ask more stated.

"Yeah, pretty cool huh" Phoenix told him excited, "What Nen type are you Feitan-san?" She asked curiously.

"I'm a Transmuter" He said simply.

"Sensei said how a Transmuter can change their aura to become something else, what does that mean exactly?" She asked.

"It means a Transmuter can change what their aura is, I know someone who can change his aura into a gum like state that can become both sticky and stretchy" Feitan explained.

Phoenix paused for a second at that, something in the back of her mind trying to push through to the front of her mind. Feitan watched as Phoenix put a hand to the side of her head in what seemed to be pain.

"Oi little girl, what's with you?" He asked curious.

Phoenix grunted slightly, "I don't know… Just that my head feels like it's going to exploded or something" Phoenix froze for a second before looking up at Feitan with wide eyes, "Bungee Gum! That's the name of the ability you just told me about! I know someone who can change their aura into a gummy substance but I just can't put my finger on who!" Phoenix said frustrated.

Feitan narrowed his eyes, if she was talking about that stupid clown then how would she even know him? "Hisoka" He said to see if he'd get a reaction out of him.

Phoenix snapped her head to him with a shocked look, "How do you know Hisoka?" She asked suspicious.

"He's an acquaintance. How does a brat like you know him" He replied just as suspicious, there is no way that she knew about the Phantom Troupe, not someone so innocent.

"I used to know him before I lost all my memories. I forgot about him until I met him again at the Hunters Exam, I didn't remember him but he was familiar. When I asked him about it he told me we were close when I was younger. I haven't remembered anything else since then until now when you told me Hisoka's Nen ability, he used it to play with me and to show me some cool tricks" Phoenix explained trailing off at the end.

The black-haired male sat silent as he processed her answer, deciding that she was telling the truth he dropped it, instead latching onto something that was much more important to him, "You lost your memories?" He asked.

The toxic green-eyed girl nodded sadly, "Yeah, I don't remember much just a lot of blood, fire everywhere and a sinister laugh. Anything before that is just blank, but I think that where I used to live where these giant wolves or maybe I had one because when I went to go rescues one of my friends, his family had one and all that went through my mind when I look into it's eyes was a name, _'Kuuso'_ "

The two sat in silence for a little while, Feitan was the one who broke it, "Is that why you became a Hunter?"

The young girl shook her head, "No, I don't really care about my past, if I find out about it along the way then great but I'm not really looking for it. I want to discover unexplored lands and travel the world. I also wanted to help a friend of mine get his revenge on a group but lately I've been thinking that maybe it's not worth it, that his family wouldn't have wanted that. I used to be willing to do anything for him because he found me when I had no one but now that I have other friends I don't feel the need to focus solely on him and that I can do what I want too. I still love him more then anything and he'll always be my best friend and I miss him every day but right now I need to focus on me!" Phoenix said strongly.

Feitan watched as the young girl panted slightly from her speech before smirking at her, pleased that she wasn't trying to please others only herself. He didn't understand why he felt like that but he did.

"If you're going to focus on you then get back to training little girl" He demanded knowing that this is what the girl needs and wants.

 **A/N: So a little refresher of when Phoenix remembers of her past and another piece of the puzzle has been found. This is mostly a filler chapter that I felt was necessary to show how Phoenix is growing on her own and how slowly she is becoming independent now that she has new friends and she's focusing on herself and not just Kurapika.**

 **Answer from last chapter: I've recently started to read the Manga and I love it. I'm up to the Heavens Arena arc and I'm flying through it.**

 **Question of the chapter: What do you think Phoenix's Nen will be based on? I've given hints in a couple of chapters and if you read my one-shot Quirks it will be easier to guess.**

 **I've closed the poll because it was up for about two months and the winner was a Dragon.**

 **Love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Jumping into the air Phoenix landed in a crouch before jumping to the side in a roll. Moving quickly, she ducked under the leg that was aiming to kick her head. Quickly pushing her Nen into her fist but making use that the rest of her body was also cover, she punched her hand towards the side that was open but her opponent moved away.

Watching as the Chairman jumped away from her Phoenix panted as sweat dripped down her face to the floor.

The chairman had been very pleased with her Hatsu training when instead of just making the leaf smoke she set it completely on fire, it wasn't a small fire either it filled the top of the glass completely and was at least a foot tall. Now he was training her one using Ko, an advance version of Gyo, he thought that if his student can get a hang on using Ko the using Gyo would be easier. So far he has been correct, even since the two started on Ko training Phoenix has been improving her Gyo rapidly.

Standing up straight Netero nodded at Phoenix to tell her they can take a break now. He watched as the girl flopped to the ground on her back ungracefully making him chuckle to himself.

"Once you've had a break and caught your breath we'll be going back to your Hatsu training. You are going to be developing your Hatsu ability" The Chairman spoke as he went over to his student and stood above her.

Phoenix looked a little confused before sitting up and looking at her teacher, "My Hatsu ability?" She asked.

The chairman nodded as he sat crossed legged in front of his student. "Every user of Nen has a Nen ability. A Nen ability is kind of like a tree, you have the roots which is something you are connected with in some way, for example I know someone who's base ability is smoke, his name is Morel. Next is the trunk, using your connection to create your base ability, Morel uses smoke as his Nen ability as a manipulator, but he can't just change his aura into smoke like a transmuter would be able to, so he uses a large pipe that can create smoke which he then controls with his Nen. And finally, you have the branches, the techniques you create using your base ability" He explained.

"So, if his roots and trunk are smoke then his branches are the attacks he has created using smoke?" Phoenix asked a little confused.

Netero nodded please with his student, "That's correct. Now the two of us are going to be finding your roots. It can be anything that your feel a connection with, whether a painful one or a happy one. Your abilities can be used for offence, defence and protection or you can focus on one thing" When Phoenix nodded in understanding he continued with his lesson, "I want you to think about what you feel connected with when you think of your own nen abilities"

"Fire" Phoenix said without even taking a second to think about it, "Not just any fire though, dragon fire. Ever since I learnt of my nen type all I've been able to think about is the knife I took in the third phase of the hunter's exam. I don't know why I feel a really deep connect to it, or more like the aura around it" Phoenix said stumbling over her words, hoping her sensei understood what she was talking about.

The chairman nodded, "I was expecting this… It's time I tell you the reason why I wanted to train you Phoenix-chan" The chairman said seriously making Phoenix's back straighten. "When I questioned you before the final phase do you remember what you told me about your knife?" He asked.

Phoenix furrowed her eyebrows as she brought her knife out of her boot and held it in front of her still sheathed. "That whenever I unsheathe it, it purrs. You told me there was a legend that is said about my blade, what is it?" She asked strongly.

Netero stroked his beard for a second before sighed, "The legend is the reason I am training you. It is said that years ago before Hunter's were even thought of that dragons ruled the skies and land. There were thousands and all were ruled under a single dragon, a king. The name of the dragon king has never been discovered but it is said that he was stronger then any dragon that had ever been born, apart from his younger brother who is said to hold the same strength as the king. The king had fire as blue as sapphires, while his brother fire as green as emeralds and the two had the strength of ten dragons. All loved the king for he was fair and kind to all his subjects but there was one who was jealous of the king and all that he had. The kings younger brother. The younger brother wanted to rule, for all to love him so he rose in rebellion and attacked his older brother. The two fought for many days but they were evenly match. It wasn't until on the brink of death the king used the last of his power, of his fire and sealed his brother away forever. But there was a price, for one to use so much power there are consequences, dire consequences, the king was sealed away just as his brother was. The younger brother was turned to stone for all of eternity while the king's body disintegrated but his soul remained and took host in a dagger waiting for the one who will take over his power and rule the dragons like he once had" The chairman explained.

Phoenix listened, awe struck before looking down at the dagger within her hands in amazement. "So, you believe that this dagger is the blade that holds the dragon king's soul?" She whispered.

The chairman nodded his head, "Yes and I also believe that you were chosen to take over his powers and rule over the dragons like he once had but the only problem is that the dragons all vanished once their king was sealed away"

Phoenix didn't say anything for a moment before looking back at the chairman lost, "But I don't understand, what does this have to do with you being the one to train me? Couldn't any other hunter train me?" She asked.

Netero shook his head, "No other hunter would be able to bring you to your full potential, only twelve others know of the legend of the dragon king and all of them are too busy to train a new hunter in Nen so I am the one teaching you" The chairman explained to the young girl.

Phoenix nodded her understand. She was able to read between the lines that the legend of the dragon king was a very guarded secret. "I take it that I can't tell anyone about the legend then" She asked rhetorically.

"It would be for the best" He agreed. "For now, I will be giving you the rest of the day off to think about your nen ability and what techniques you wish to create with it. I will be going down to the Hunters Hotel to grab some more supplies since we're starting to run low"

Phoenix nodded absentmindedly as the chairman stood up and left to the Hunter's Hotel. _'What techniques could I make anyway'_ The young girl thought to herself.

Standing up the toxic green-eyed girl went over to the tent and grabbed a note pad and pen out of the bag Shaylin had given her before she started her training three weeks ago. In the middle of the page she wrote _DRAGON_ in a bubble, she started to make a mind map of everything that she could think of when she thought of dragons.

So far, she had; breathes fire, has claws, scales, slitted eyes, strong, wings, tail, fire. She couldn't think of any more so she stared at the ideas she had come up with.

"How could I make any of these into a nen ability? What category would they even go in?" She asked herself.

"The main category for these moves would be transmuter" A sharp quite voice said above her making Phoenix jump up and throw a punch covered in Nen in less than a second.

A hand also covered in nen stopped her punch before it could hit the persons face. Looking into the voices eyes Phoenix relaxed and let out a sigh of relief that it was only Feitan.

"Sorry Feitan-san, you startled me" Phoenix said sheepishly as she took her hand back and sat down again where Feitan joined her.

"I can see that little girl" Feitan said with no amusement in his voice, "You're creating a nen ability now" He stated.

Phoenix nodded slightly as she turned to a new page and wrote down the five common nen types, "Yeah, I can see it in my head but I just don't know how to make it happen is all" Phoenix explained while trying to think of the answer herself.

"First you need to just focus on one thing, don't worry about the techniques you can create when you can't even get your nen ability to work" Feitan advised.

Phoenix hummed to herself, "So if I can change my aura into fire then I've got my nen ability and can then focus of my techniques" Phoenix theorised.

Feitan nodded his conformation, "To change your aura into fire might take a very long time" He warned.

"I know but I can do it!" Phoenix said confidently before pausing, "Hey Feitan… When I've finished my training and I leave here then will I ever see you again?" She asked hesitant.

Feitan didn't say anything for a moment just observed the young girl who he started to call a friend, "I doubt we'll see each other and if we do it won't be for a long time" He said bluntly.

Phoenix frowned sadly to herself. "Oh, I guess I can understand that, you're probably really busy with whatever you do" She sighed.

Feitan frowned to himself at the young girls' sad expression, "I'll give you my number so you can call me if you need anything little girl, is that good enough?" He asked defeated.

Looking up with a hopeful expression Phoenix nodded happily before handing over her cell phone to her friend so he could put his number in. She quickly gave him hers as well.

The two sat in silence as Phoenix tried to think of a way to change her aura into fire when she stood up suddenly and went over to the fire pit. Quickly putting some left-over wood from the night before into the fire pit before she lit the fire before sitting on her knees leaning forward.

"What are you doing?" Feitan asked a little confused.

Phoenix didn't look away from her intense stare at the fire, "I don't know exactly but I feel that if I watch the way the flames dance then I can get an idea of how my aura should be when I try to change it into fire" She explained.

The narrowed eyed man didn't say anything just watched before sitting next to her, "You can't just watch the way the flames move, you need to know the feeling of it, the heat, you need to be one with the fire if you want even a chance of doing whatever your thinking" He advised.

Phoenix furrowed her brows as she glanced at him before looking at the fire with a searching look that make Feitan tense a little. Before he could do anything, Phoenix thrust her hand right into the middle of the fire pit. Feitan quickly growled as he pulled her hand out of the fire as quickly as he could.

"What are you? An idiot?" He asked harshly as he check over her hand to see how serious her burns were but there wasn't anything there, her skin wasn't even that warm. Looking up into confused and shocked toxic green eyes he knew that this was the first time this has happened to her, "What are you?" He asked again in a confused tone.

Phoenix didn't say anything for a moment, "I- I don't know…" She whispered before pausing, remember what her sensei told her before about the dragon's legend. If she truly was the one to gain the kings powers would that make her immune to fire? Looking up at Feitan again she opened her mouth to say something but closed it as the memory of the chairman telling her not to tell anyone came to the front of her mind, "I can't tell you, I'm sorry!" She admitted.

Feitan frowned deeply at the young girl in front of me, "Why can't you tell me?" He asked in a sharp tone.

Phoenix bite her lip and looked down at her hand still in Feitan's, "Because if the wrong person knew about me then there will be a lot of trouble" She whispered.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble! Why would anyone be after you? Tell me Phoenix!" He demanded using her name, something he had never done.

Phoenix flinched at her name before looking up at Feitan with tears in her eyes, not thinking she threw herself into his arms that he wrapped around her in surprised. "Sensei thinks I'm apart of a legend and will take over a dragon kings power! You can't tell anyone okay? I'm not supposed to tell anyone" She cried with guilty tears falling down her face onto Feitan's shoulder.

Feitan didn't say anything deep in thought. "I won't tell anyone" He promised quietly, and he meant it, he wouldn't even tell Chrollo or Phinks.

Phoenix backed away to look into his eyes, "Really?" She asked weakly and when her friend nodded she smiled brightly at him before hugging him again. "In that case you can help me with my Hatsu ability, right?" She asked.

Feitan signed as he rolled his eyes, pushing the excited girl away from him, "Fine, I'll help with your Hatsu ability, just stop crying on me little girl" He muttered with a slight blush on his face making Phoenix giggle.

The two worked for an hour trying to get Phoenix's aura to change into fire but it was a lot harder then the young girl thought it would be.

The sun was only just starting to set when Feitan left but told the girl that the next time he saw her she better be able to change the properties of her nen or else he was going to punish her.

When Netero came back with the supplies Phoenix was standing in the middle of the clearing using Ren but her aura was tinted blue making the chairman pause for a moment and just observe his student before putting the supplies away.

"You've made some progress already, Phoenix-chan" He said in greeting, coming over to the young girl as she stopped using her nen.

Phoenix nodded happily, "Yep, I was thinking about what my aura would be like if I was to change it into fire. I was watching the fire for a while and I thought that maybe since I'm to gain the dragon kings powers then I might be immune to fire, so I tested it and I was right. Once I found that out I made an even bigger fire pit- "She pointed to the larger fire pit near the tents "-and stood in it and doing so I learnt what being one with fire really is. After that I've been trying to change my aura into fire" She explained hoping that she had been doing it right.

The chairman nodded, "That is a very good idea Phoenix-chan. Did you do what I asked though?" He asked.

Phoenix nodded quickly before going over to her tent to fetch the notepad which she gave to the chairman.

Netero didn't say anything as he looked over the mind map she had written before going over to the next page where she listed under what nen category the things listed on the mind map would go in.

"You're using a transmuter technique to change your aura into fire" He noted before nodding, "You have the right idea of being one with the fire, but I would suggest instead on just standing in the flames to get a feel of what they feel like then use your Ren while your standing in the fire so your aura can mimic the flames" He advised.

Phoenix looked surprised having never thought of that herself before nodding. Going over to the still lit fire pit she walked into the flames and stood still. She closed her eyes as she started to use her Ren and just let her aura interact with the flames.

Opening her eyes when her sensei hummed to himself she looked down to see the flames right under her feet had turned blue instead of the burnt orange they normally are. Looking back up she watching as the chairman walked around her observing the flames intently.

"Now I want you to close your eyes and picture the flames merging with your nen" Netero instructed. After a few moments the flames did exactly that, they began merging with his students nen and turning blue. "Good, now keeping that image in your mind I want you to slowly walk out of the flames and open your eyes, slowly" He said quietly so he wouldn't distract the young girl.

Doing as she was told Phoenix slowly walked out of the fire pit but never letting her focus waver. Once she was out she slowly opened her eyes to see that blue flames were clinging to her person. Smiling proudly as she brought her hands up to her face and wiggled her fingers, watching as the flames followed her fingers.

Looking over at her sensei she smiled proudly which he returned before laughing with glee as she spun around memorized by the blue flames as they followed her every move and clung to her skin. She had her Hatsu ability and now all that was left was to master it that the techniques she's thought of.

 **A/N: Wow I'm on a roll lately, three chapters about a week apart! I've finished school for the year so I'll be able to focus on this fanfiction a lot more now! Phoenix finally has her nen ability and next chapter will be the last for the training arc and we will be onto the York New City Arc. We finally know what was so important with the dagger in the third phase. To get a mental image of what Phoenix looks like with the flame look up 'rin okumura flames' she just doesn't have the flame horns on her head.**

 **Answer from last chapter: The answer is Dragons, as you can tell from the chapter…**

 **Question of the chapter: What do you think will happen between Feitan and Phoenix from now on, they will not be getting together just so everyone knows.**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

 _5 Months Later_

Phoenix's training was coming to a close, while she hasn't completely mastered Nen she knows and is able to use all of the different applicants of Nen. She has even learnt a few tricks from Feitan.

She currently had a few Hatsu abilities but they all needed a little work but Netero was impressed how far his student has come in only six months.

Right now, Phoenix was packing up her camp site getting ready to leave. The chairman left her two weeks ago, having taught her everything he could so he left her to work on her Hatsu abilities alone.

Feitan had been coming and going as usual but she hadn't seen him for a few days now and she was starting to get worried.

Looking at her clothes Phoenix frowned at how dirty they were, there were also torn in different places. She was going to need new clothes for sure.

Phoenix signed in annoyance as her hair fell into her face, her hair band broke a few days ago and she didn't have a spare so her hair has been down since. All it did was get in her face.

Gathering her hair into her hand she sharpened her hand with her nen just like Feitan had taught her, she sliced through her hair like a hot knife would to butter. Instantly felt the weight that was her hair disappear, it was a weird sensation but it felt nice to not have a lot of weight on her head anymore.

Looking at the long hair that was still in her hand she used her other hand to feel the rest of her hair, she noted satisfied that it was just above her shoulders and almost all even, just the fronts will need a little work which would be easy.

Lighting her hand that had her cut hair in it on fire with her nen. Phoenix watched as the ash floated away in the breeze.

She noticed the person watching her from the tree line. Standing up she smiled sadly seeing that it was Feitan and she knew that they needed to say goodbye now.

"You need to go now, don't you?" She asked quietly as her friend walked over to her silently.

He stopped when he was in front of her frowning, "I need to go" He nodded. He reached and played with one of the longer locks of her hair, "Why'd you cut it?" He asked.

"It was annoying me, plus It's good to have a change once in a while, right?" She explained.

Feitan hummed before sharping his hand like Phoenix had done a few minutes ago, he carefully fix her hair making it all one length before taking his hand back. "It was annoying me" Was all he said to her questioning look.

Phoenix giggled to herself before wrapping her arms around his waist tightly, he didn't return the hug but she didn't expect him to, "I'm going to miss you Feitan" She whispered.

"I'm just glad to be getting rid of you little girl" He said mockingly.

Phoenix tightened her grip as she laughed into his chest before releasing him and stepping back, "Thank you for all of your help these past few months" She said gratefully.

Feitan rolled his eyes, "Stop being mushy little girl, it's not like you" He said with a smirk.

Phoenix smiled sadly again before picking up her packed bag, looking up Feitan was gone but in his place, was a paper bag. Kneeling down she opened it only to gasp at what she saw.

Pulling out an elegant black coat she smiled as she continued looking through the contents of the paper bag, there was a whole outfit in there. Smiling Phoenix silently thank Feitan for the gift before putting her bag on the floor before stripping down to her underwear.

Once she was dressed Phoenix smiled satisfied down at her new clothes. It was a tight thin strap white tank top that tucked into her black high waist shorts that stopped just above her mid thighs. The coat was maroon like her scarf and had a V like shape at the back, it split down the middle and ended at her knees, it was also designed to flow around the wearer elegantly. The coat went three quarters down her arm as well. Finally, she had black thigh high socks with black ankle boots that had a silver buckle. To finish her look, she tied her scarf around her neck not in a wrap like she used to but so both ends were going over each of her shoulders.

Finally, completely ready Phoenix started her journey to York New City, she had two days to get there to meet all her friends on the first of September. She was able to make it out of the forest easy and returned the bag given to her at the start of her training to Shaylin who comment as how different she looked, apparently, she had lost some of the baby fat in her cheeks and was much toner now.

Now Phoenix was on an airship that would take her to York New City. She was both excited and nervous to see her friends after so long. Sure they had all called each other a few times in the six months apart but talking on the phone and seeing each other in real life was completely different.

Looking out of the airship window she gulped before moved over towards the door of the room she had gotten herself, away from the window. As strong as she has become she was still nervous of heights, not as much but it was enough to make her fidget.

It had taken the young hunter a day to get to York New City by air and she was more than happy to get off of the airship and onto the ground again. She was lucky enough to arrive on the first just like she had planned. Now all she had to do was find her friends, which is going take forever she noted as saw just how many people were in York New City.

Deciding to just walk around and hopefully find her friends. Phoenix stopped at quite a few stalls to have a look at what they were selling when she came across a belt with a dragon's buckle. Picking it up she happy with the light weight of it and the leather feeling of it.

" _What do you think Tarkar?"_ Phoenix asked in her mind.

" _ **It's nice kid, you should get it"**_ A deep friendly voice answered her back.

Phoenix was a little freaked out when she first heard the voice in her mind, she can remember it like it was yesterday.

 _(Flashback)_

 _It's been a week since Phoenix got her Nen to change into fire and she was holding her dragon king dagger when she looked up at Netero, "Do I unsheathe it?" She asked hesitantly._

 _Netero nodded, "If you hear a voice in your head when you do then we'll know for sure if you are the one who is meant to take over the dragon kings power" He explained to the girl._

 _Phoenix nodded before taking a deep breath, as she let it out she slowly unsheathed the dagger. There was an intense pause before Phoenix sighed in disappointment, she hadn't heard a voice, which means she isn't the one to take over the dragon kings voice._

 _Just as she was about to tell the Chairman the voice spoke_ _ **"I've been waiting for you child"**_

 _Phoenix gasped as she looked around before closing her eyes, "Are you the dragon king?" She asked cautiously in her mind._

" _ **I am indeed, my name is Tarkar. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance young one"**_ _Tarkar said formally._

 _Phoenix smiled slightly at that, "My name is Phoenix and it's nice to meet you as well Tarkar-san"_

 _(Flashback End)_

The two had only met a few months ago but it's like the two have known each other for years.

Looking at the price Phoenix was happy to see that 20 jennies, it was a steal. Paying for the belt she looped it through the belt holes on her shorts before starting her search for her friends again. She figured that they wouldn't recognize her since she has a whole new look so she would have to be the one to find them, she just hoped that she'd find them soon.

Phoenix had been walking around for a good hour when she decided to take a break and grab something to eat.

Choosing a cute little café that wasn't overly busy she ordered a hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin before sitting at a window seat to watch the people walking around the street auction.

She had finished her muffin and was almost finished her hot chocolate when she caught sight of fluffy white hair. She stared blankly at the spikes for moment before her eyes widen, those where Killua's fluffy white spikes.

Quickly drinking the rest of her drink Phoenix left the café as quickly as she could so she could catch up to her friends.

Not taking her eyes off of Killua's head she took notice that he was with Gon and Leorio. Smiling brightly Phoenix ran the last bit of distance and threw her arms around Gon from behind, she knew that if she did that to Killua he might have hurt her from old habits and she didn't want to risk making him feel guilty.

Gon let out a shout of shock when someone grabbed him, this brought Killua and Leorio's attention very quickly to see that some random girl was hug Gon from behind. Just when Killua was about to rip the girl off of his friend the girl let go and look at him with startling toxic green eyes with a ring of yellow around the pupil.

"Phoenix?" He shouted.

Phoenix giggled before throwing herself at Killua, wrapping her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist with a bright blush on his cheeks.

Phoenix!" Gon shouted as he jumped on the two hugging friends laughing all the while.

Phoenix grinned back at him, letting go of Killua with one hand and hugging Gon at the same time. When the three let go of each other she went over and gave Leorio a big hug as well.

"Oh, I've really missed you guys!" She exclaimed to them all the smile never falling from her face.

Leorio ruffled her now short hair, "We've missed you too shrimp but what happened to your hair?" He asked curious.

Phoenix ran a hand through her short locks gentle detangling them, "I cut it, I'm a lot stronger now then when we last saw each other so I wanted a new look" She explained.

"I like it!" Gon compliment with Killua shrugging and looking away with a blush.

Seeing Killua blush make a small blush rise on Phoenix's cheeks. She ignored it as the three now four made their way to the hotel they would be staying in while in York New City. Leorio was the one who booked the hotel which Phoenix was grateful for since she didn't even think about that.

The four were walking around the city catching up, "So how are you guys doing?" Leorio asked the three young teens as Phoenix got the boys new Beetle phones working for them.

"What do you mean?" Gon asked.

"You've trained and gotten stronger, right?" The oldest asked.

Before any of the boys could answer Phoenix dragged them over to a restaurant for a quick lunch. There Gon and Killua explained what the two were up to. Phoenix was very proud to hear how far the two have come and how Gon was about to punch Hisoka in the face and return his badge as well.

"What?!" Leorio on the other hand was very surprised that Gon was able to do so, so quickly, "You returned the tag to Hisoka at Heaven's Arena? And you have to be pretty good to make it to the 200s… How strong have you gotten now?" He asked.

"Hey, did you learn Nen, Leorio?" Gon asked him already knowing that Phoenix has learn it from the phone calls.

Leorio leant forward with a smug look on his face, "Yeah, you bet" He said smugly.

"Awesome!" Gon exclaimed excited while Killua and Phoenix shared a doubtful glance between them.

"Really?" Killua asked sceptically.

The oldest teen leant back a little annoyed, "Why would I lie to you?" He asked, "It's the ability to build up a shroud of aura, one's own life force…" He said smugly thinking he had got the best of the ex-assassin.

Killua sighed while Gon smiled sheepishly, Phoenix was the one to tell him, "That's Ten Leorio" She said simply taking a bite of her burger, "It's one of the four major principals for learning Nen"

"Eh? There's more to it?" Leorio asked bewildered.

Killua deadpanned as he replied, "Figured as much"

Leorio just sighed and looked at Phoenix, "How was training with the Chairman shrimp?" He asked her nicely.

Phoenix swallowed the last of her burger before answering, "It was pretty good. He really pushed me but I got through it. He even taught me more then the four major principles but we only did a little bit of that training, we mostly focused on the four major principles and my Hatsu" She explained not telling them about Tarkar or Feitan.

"What else is there but the four major principles? Wing-san only taught us the four major principles" Gon asked curiously.

"Hmm, like In, an advanced application of Zetsu that allows you to hid your Nen, you need to use Gyo to be able to see through it though" She explained.

"You can use In?" Killua asked, "Hisoka used it during his fights at Heaven's Arena"

Phoenix nodded before noticing that the four had all finished their food and suggested that they go to the hotel. Once the four friends got into their hotel room Phoenix went to choose one of the four rooms for herself. Three rooms had one double bed while another had two singles. Leorio got his own and Killua and Gon shared, Kurapika will let the left-over room when he shows up.

Going into the living room where the three boys were talking Phoenix sat down on one of the couches playing on her phone. She sent a quick message to Kurapika telling what hotel they were staying in and the floor and room number, but he never replied worrying Phoenix but she ignored it to listen to Gon and Killua.

" _Greed Island?_ What's that?" Leorio asked once the two explained to them what they plan to do while in York New City.

"A legendary game" Killua told him while holding onto his lolly pop.

"We're trying to get a copy at the auction" Gon added.

"But why a game?" Leorio asked taking a ship of his coffee.

"I think this game holds a clue to finding my dad" Explained Gon.

"How does this game hold a clue to finding your father, Gon?" Phoenix asked with her head tilted.

Gon smiled sheepishly at the girl, "Well, it's a long story"

"Anyway, the problem is the cost" Killua added.

"How much are we talking about?" Leorio asked.

Phoenix giggled to herself making the three to look at her, "The lowest starting bid is 8.9 billion Jenny" She told Leorio.

"8.9 billion Jenny?!" He stuttered, "How much do you have?" He asked the boys before pausing and looking at the young girl who was staring at her phone with a slight worried look, "Wait, how did you even know that Phoenix?" He asked.

Phoenix looked at him, "Because on my way here I did a little bit of research on what was going to be at the auction, I have quite a bit of money that the Chairman gave me as a reward for completing my training so I could buy something" Phoenix explained before looking at Gon and Killua, "I'm going to give you my money for _Greed Island,_ I might come with you guys from now on, it depends on what Kurapika wants to do but I want to go with you guys" She told them shyly, scratching her cheek with a finger.

Gon smiled brightly at that, Killua smirked that the young girl wanted to come with him and Gon not Kurapika, he wasn't sure why but he was happy that she chose them.

Getting back onto the topic of money and the game Gon rubbed his head awkwardly, "We've make come bad investments, so we're done to 5 million" Gon explained.

"55 million, Gon. Sensei gave me 50 million" Phoenix but in. Gon nodded his head gratefully at Phoenix.

"Listen up, kids…" Leorio said with a chuck, "This event is held at Southern Piece, the world's finest auction house. The money you have, not including Phoenix's share, won't even cover the entry fee" Leorio explained honestly.

"But the game has a low difficult rank on the Hunter site's treasure list" Gon complained.

"That's because you only need money to get a copy of the game. Other treasure you might have to go to different dangerous places, like jewels and such" Phoenix commented.

"It always comes back to money. The world runs on money!" Leorio declared smugly.

"Well…" Killua interrupted, "That just means that a real treasure can't be bought. If you can't obtain an item like this with ease, you can't consider yourself a pro Hunter, right?" Killua pointed out.

Leorio and Gon both frowned before moving to the computer in the room looking up _Greed Island._ "You don't need to tell me that. But first, we need money… we'll need some starting funds. Lets find a way to make some money in York New!" He muttered to Gon who agreed whole heartedly.

Phoenix sighed at her two simple minded friends before standing up and sitting next to Killua on the window sill. "Hey, Killua" Phoenix started quietly, "Have you heard from Kurapika yet?" She asked concerned.

Killua frowned before shaking his head, "No, but he's probably gotten a job that's taking up his time. He'll contact us soon or he'll even come here once he has some free time" Killua suggested trying to calm Phoenix who was obviously distressed that her closet friend wasn't around when they all agreed to meet up together today.

Phoenix nodded with a sigh before looking back at the two at the computer, not aware that Killua was staring at her still. He was trying to memorize this new Phoenix. She was much more confident in herself and she seemed so much more independent, he found that he really like her like this. The new look suited her and the hair make her even prettier than before.

After a while Leorio was looking up ways to make quick money in the city, "Huh? Swap?" He asked confused.

"What does that mean?" Gon asked just as confused.

Clicking on the link a computerised voice explained what swap was, " _'Swap'_. An auction technique. Slang for the exchange of goods. Also see ' _Bind'"_

"What's a bind?" Leorio asked himself before Gon clicked on that link.

The same computerised voiced explained bind, " _'Bind'._ The seller names a condition besides money as their price. The winning bid will be the one that comes closest to meeting that condition"

"Condition?" Gon now asked, Phoenix rolled her eyes, the two were just going in a circle.

"No idea what that means" Killua unhelpfully comments.

Leorio chuckled to himself before standing up straight, "So that's it… There's another kind of auctioning…" He said devilishly.

Phoenix only stared at the eldest with a blank look, she really like whatever Leorio had planned.

 **A/N: 20 chapters completed! Wow this is amazing and a big achievement for me!**

 **Phoenix had finally meet up with her friends but where's Kurapika? When will the two see each other again.**

 **Answer from last chapter: I'm not going to be telling anyone what's going to happen between Feitan and Phoenix because that will spoil it wouldn't it?**

 **Question of the chapter: What will happened between Phoenix and Kurapika once this arc is finished?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

* * *

The four friends were currently on the streets a few blocks away from their hotel room. Leorio planned to have an arm wrestling street completion where Gon will be the one to do all the arm wrestling while Phoenix supervised.

"Come on down!" Leorio announced to everyone who was walking past, a few stopped and came over to listen surprisingly, "Let's have some conditional auctioning fun! Here's what's up for bid!" Here he pointed to Killua who was holding a box that held a large diamond, "A diamond worth three million. Comes with the appraisal of the store where I just bought it. Arm wrestling will decide the winning bid. The first person to beat this boy wins the diamond. You must pay 10,000 Jenny entry fee. Now let's start the auction!" He shouted to the excited crowd.

Straight away men started to yell out that they wanted to have a go at the auction. Phoenix was pleasantly surprised with how well Leorio's plan was working, she thought that it might take awhile to get things started.

Gon's first opponent was a tanned muscular man. Gon won easily, the four knew he could have won within seconds but they needed to make this stunt look real or else they'd be in trouble.

Once the first man lost he went off muttering about losing to a kid. The auction went right into the night. Phoenix was getting really bored so she decided to text Kurapika gain to see if he'd answer up, she didn't bother to call because if he did get a job he might get into trouble if he was caught on the phone to her.

P: Hey Kura, where are you? Haven't heard from you all day and starting to get worried.

Phoenix was surprised when her phone went off a few minutes later. She quickly went to her messages and was happy to see that it was from Kurapika.

K: Sorry I haven't been able to answer Nix I've been busy. I got a job as a body guard for a someone who is going to be participating in the auction. I don't think I'll be able to see you until the auction is finished but I'll try and get some time off to come see you all.

Phoenix smiled to herself before going over to Killua and showing him the message.

"Told you" He said smirking at the girl who shoved him with her shoulder gently making him chuckle to himself before joining her as she went back to leaning against the wall.

The two just watch the auction in silence, both bored and wanting to just go back to the hotel but they knew that they needed to stay here to help gather the money they needed for _Greed Island._

Both of them straightened up slightly when a short black-haired girl came forward to compete for the diamond.

"Well, we have our first female challenger!" Leorio announced to the large crowd who started to called out their encouragement to the girl.

Phoenix rolled her eyes as Leorio tried to flirt with her but was only ignored.

The girl bowed to Gon which surprised him, "Let's have a fair contest" She said kindly.

Gon bowed back to the girl, "Oh, yes" He said before the two started to arm wrestle.

Straight away Phoenix knew that Gon really was struggling this time. Stepping forward she stood a few steps behind Gon to get a better view of what was going to happen.

Once Gon was finally able to pin the girls hand down with struggle. Phoenix went over to Gon and put her hand on his shoulder to check he was ok, when he nodded that he was she looked up as the girl stood up after thanking Gon for the match before disappearing into the crowd. Phoenix didn't take her eyes off of the girl before she stopped at what seemed to be her friends.

Phoenix's eyes widened when she spotted who the unknown girl was with. Feitan was standing right there talking to the girl. He looked over at her having felt her stare and paused when he locked eyes with Phoenix. He smirked at her before going off with his friends.

' _What is Feitan doing here?"_ Phoenix asked in her mind.

' _ **I don't know kid but I don't have a very good feeling about it. Keep your guard up'**_ Tarkar warned his heir.

Phoenix nodded her agreement before going back to the auction and playing the part of security in case someone decided to get a little violent.

* * *

The next morning the four were sitting in their hotel room with the diamond and yesterdays winnings that Leorio had counted.

"Currently, we have a 3,000,000 diamond and 2,400,00 Jenny leftover cash and Phoenix's 50,000,000. And we also have the 7,750,000 jenny from the arm wrestling. That gives us a total of around 58 million. We need to turn that into at least 9 billion, the minimum opening bid for _Greed Island…_ I don't see how we can manage that through legitimate channels" Leorio explained to the four young teens.

"I wouldn't call that arm wrestling legitimate" Gon admitted feeling slightly guilty for tricking so many people.

"All the challengers towards the end were half desperate losers trying for revenge" Killua added.

"That's fine. That was my goal" Leorio confessed.

"What goal?" Phoenix asked confused.

"We want as many people as possible to embellish the tale" Leorio commented but that didn't help the three understand his motives at all.

"What do you mean?" Gon asked curious.

"The arm wrestling was meant as bait" The bespectacled male told his younger friends.

"Bait for what exactly?" Phoenix asked with a raised eyebrow from beside the older man.

"To draw out the moles" Leorio said.

"Moles? Why do we want moles?" Gon asked.

Phoenix paused for a moment before sighing, "I get it…" The young girl said before explaining it to Gon and Killua who haven't caught on just yet. Leorio was next to her nodding proudly like he was her father or something making her move away from him slightly.

* * *

"Come on down!" Leorio announced. The four were once again out on the streets with the arm wrestling stand set up, hoping to attract some 'moles'. "Let's have some conditional auctioning fun! We have a diamond worth 3 million. The winner will be determined through arm wrestling. The first person to beat this boy wins the diamond. You must pay a 10,000 Jenny entry fee"

"What?" A man in the crowd said, "He's just a kid, I'll give it a shot"

But just before he could even move the person yesterday stopped him, "Don't bother, that kid beat five hundred people yesterday. Over twenty ended up with broken arms"

Phoenix watched as the crowd listened to the man, _'Hmm, guess Leorio's idea is working, if the stories have already started to circulate then we'll attract the right people fast_ Phoenix thought to herself.

' _ **Your friend is quite clever, kid"**_ Tarkar said to his heir.

Phoenix smirked to herself as she thought back to all the stupid things Leorio did during the hunter's exam. Sending her memories to Tarkar she listened as he cracked up laughing. It was only recently that she learnt that she could send more then just her thoughts to the dragon king and the two have been experimenting whether it be their emotions, memories or even entering each other's mind so they can meet face to face but they have only been able to do the last one whenever Phoenix is asleep.

Phoenix had been trying to widen the mental link the two shared but it was turning out to be trickier then she had expected it to be.

The young toxic green-eyed girl was broken out of her thoughts when a large man in a black suit pushed his way through the crowd, "Move" He demanded in a deep voice. Following him was a short man also in a black suit with an unpleasant glint in his eye.

"Oh, do we have our first challenger?" Leorio asked acting ignorant.

"No" The short man said making sure that Leorio's attention was on him, "I already know that my man can't beat your kid. I was watching yesterday"

"Then what do you want, mister?" Phoenix asked sweetly before Leorio could. The two had agreed to let Phoenix do the talking because she was innocent looking, especially with her new haircut, and that will help the moles to lower their guard.

"Interested in making some real money?" He asked smugly.

"Really?" She asked faking her excited.

"Yeah, I know where you and your friends can make some big bucks, little lady, instead of the pocket change you're getting here. You can make hundreds… no thousand of times more" He explained thinking that he caught a bunch of suckers when really he was the sucker getting caught.

* * *

The four followed the man as he leads them to a building nearing the edge of the city where the buildings were more run down.

"Are they moles?" Gon whispered quietly.

"Yeah, looks like we landed a big fish" Leorio whispered back.

"Huh? Fish? Don't you mean moles?" Gon asked confused.

"Stop talking, it doesn't matter" Leorio mutter annoyed.

The four friends finally arrived at the building the two men in suits were leading them to. They followed them inside to an elevator that took them down to the basement. When the doors opened the four were assaulted by the loud cheering that was going on in the room.

The room was full of mostly men who were cheering on two burly men in the middle of a wrestling ring as they arm wrestled.

"Oh! I can feel the bloodlust" Killua exclaimed excited. Phoenix nodded her head in agreement being able to feel the thick tension in the air. She moved closer to Killua when they came to the railing that looked down at the wrestling ring.

"The arm wrestling competition here accepts all comers, and it pays out" The short-suited guy explained to the four hunters. "The spectators bet on each match, and the winner receives ten percent of all bets placed. We're talking billions bet on each match"

"That could mean millions with each win" Leorio uttered with pure joy.

"You could even win more… I'll be taking fifty percent of your earnings as my commission" The suit guy explained making Phoenix narrow her eyes slightly.

"Fifty percent? Isn't that a little high?" Leorio stuttered.

"You can't participate unless I enter your name. Besides you can bet your own money. You'll get great odds with that kid, and earn back your stake a hundred times over" The suit guy said trying to get money out the four.

Before Leorio could agree Phoenix walked up to the guy with a begging look, "Mister, can you please lower the percentage? We really need all the money we can get! It's my mother you see, she's going to die if we don't get enough money for her surgery!" At this point tears started to form in Phoenix's eyes, "I already lost my father because we couldn't afford his medication anymore, I can't lose my mother as well!" She sobbed.

The three boys behind her were trying to not look confused or surprised at this. They all understood what she was doing so Leorio put a hand on her should in an act to comfort her.

The lie must have struck something in the man because it looked like there was a war going on in his head before he sighed in defeat, "Fine, little lady, I'll take 25 percent of your winnings. I hope you get the money for your mother" He said hesitantly.

Phoenix gave the man a big watery grin as she thanked him and went back to Killua's side who put an arm around her to keep up the act. The action caused a bright blush to appear on both teens cheeks but neither said anything because they both enjoyed the closeness of the other.

"Well? Any other challengers?" The ref in the ring called out.

"Got one right here" The suit guy said as he walked Gon to the ring with the others followed closely behind, "This kid is up for the challenge"

The ref looked surprised but just went with it, "Very well"

Before anyone could move, all the lights turned on and a very weird looking man jumped into the middle of the ring, "Sorry, but the arm wrestling is cancelled. We'll be doing some conditional auctioning now!"

Leorio ran in front of the suit guy as Phoenix and Killua went to Gon's side just in case something happened, "Why was it cancelled?" Leorio asked but the man had no idea what was going on.

"To win, you must play hide-and-seek! We'll start by passing out flyers!" A number of ladies with a purple eye mask were handing out a bunch of fliers.

Taking one Phoenix looked at all the people on the sheet before holding in a gasp. She stared at the paper with shocked eyes not wanting to believe what she saw. _'Feitan!'_

"Examine the pictures on the flyer. Those seven people are your targets!" The weird guy announced.

"Hey, that girl with glasses was…" Leorio started.

"Yep… she arm wrestled me" Gon finished.

"Hey, are they the ones responsible for what happened last night?" Someone asked from behind the group of friends.

"Yeah, you mean the attack on the auction?" Another asked.

Once Phoenix heard that she torn her eyes away from the sheet that she was clenching in her hands and looked at them with a worried expression. Kurapika was working for a group who was buying at the auction! What if something bad happened to him? She turned to Killua who was surprised at what they over heard and looked at Phoenix with worried eyes knowing that she would worry about Kurapika until they heard from him.

"In order to win the bid, you must capture and deliver a target to us. For each target brought in, you will receive a sum of 2 billion Jenny!" This of course caused an excited chatter to travel around the room. "There is no time limit. It doesn't matter if the target it dead or alive. Please contact us once you've captured one!"

"2 billion each?" Gon asked unbelieving while Phoenix just looked at Feitan's picture with worry growing inside her, maybe when she gets back to the hotel she should call him to see if he's alright. She doesn't care what he did, just that he's important to her.

"If we catch them all, we'd have 14 billion!" Leorio said excitedly.

"It'll cost you 5 million Jenny to participate" The weird guy explained to everyone as they all rushed to pay.

"We're joining in, right?" Leorio asked and went to signed the four up when Gon agreed.

"Wait Leorio! Please don't sign me up" Phoenix asked him. She got some funny looks from her friends but Leorio shrugged and went to sign himself and the two boys up.

Once the three were signed up the four left. Outside the sun was started to sun so it gave a pretty glow to everything around them.

"We need to hurry" Leorio said to the three oozing with confidence.

"There's no rush" Killua counted, "They won't be able to catch our targets. After all the mafia's having trouble handling them"

"What do you mean?" Leorio asked.

"This conditional auction is nothing but a bounty hunt. In other words, the mafia is admitting that, alone, it can't capture these targets" Killua explained further.

"You have a point" Leorio admitted, "They were willing to suspend everything to track them down"

"I just heard that the underground auction was attacked last night" The white-haired boy added.

"The underground auction" Leorio asked surprised, "Was it them? That's why there's a reward for their heads"

"They must be nuts for to steal from the mafia. And we already know who would be crazy enough for that" Killua said smirking.

The three boys stopped but Phoenix just kept going not wanting to hear what the boys were saying, because she knew that Feitan wasn't the nicest person but he couldn't be in the Troupe, he just couldn't!

"The Phantom Troupe!" Leorio asked not wanted to be correct but frowned when Killua nodded seriously.

"Oh, right… Phoenix is everything okay? You looked like you saw a ghost when you got your sheet?" Gon asked making the young girl stop.

Phoenix didn't say anything for a moment before sighing but not turning to her friends, "I haven't told you everything about my training with Netero-sensei" She admitted and she knew that got their attention but still she didn't turn to look at them. "Whenever sensei had to go away to take care of the Hunter Association I was visited by someone, his name was Feitan. He helped me with my nen whenever he came around and we'd spar a lot too. Whenever we weren't training we were talking or just enjoying each other's company. He became someone really important to me in those six months… I never knew that he was in the Phantom Troupe though!" She explained, whispered the last part still in denial.

None of the boys said anything before Gon walked over to her, "It's okay, you didn't know Phoenix" He said comforting, "He lied to you, it's not your fault"

"Actually, it kind of is. I never asked what he did, I never even asked if he was a Hunter, and to be honest with you I don't care. I don't care that he's in the Troupe because all he ever was to me was kind and helpful!" She admitted and tears started to fall down her cheeks to the ground. "But I feel like I'm betraying Kurapika because I'm friends with one of the members!" She sobbed.

The young girl was spun around and given a hug, a hand started to stroke her hair. "Kurapika doesn't need to know" The person holding her whispered. Phoenix then knew that it was Killua holding her making her put her arms around the ex-assassin. "None of us will tell him okay?" He said looked at Leorio and Gon who nodded their agreement.

"Killua's right Phoenix. If your friends with him then he can't be that bad" Leorio reassured the young girl, "I know Kurapika wants the get rid of the spiders completely but we won't let him kill your friend" He said with a gentle smile.

Phoenix nodded before wiping her tears away, happy that she has such amazing friends. "Gon, you should call Kurapika to see if he's okay, he has a job as a body guard for someone participating in the auction" She told her brown eyed friend who nodded.

Gon did as he was told and called their blonde friend but he never answer. This made all four friends nervous and very worried. They quickly went back to their hotel so they could call him again, hoping that he'll answer them.

* * *

 **A/N: I really didn't know how to end this but this will have to do! So, I changed a few things as you can tell, what do you all think of Phoenix's acting skills?**

 **If anyone was to beta my story or knows someone who will please let me know, it'll mean a lot to me.**

 **Phoenix has told her friends about Feitan, wonder what will happen when Kurapika finds out?**

 **Answer from last chapter: I'm not going to be telling anyone what's going to happen between Kurapika and Phoenix because that will spoil it wouldn't it?**

 **Question of the chapter: Any fire based attacks for Phoenix that would like in the story? I have a few ideas for her attacks, which we won't see until Greed Island but would like a few more so if anyone has any let me know.**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

The four friends were currently in an internet café looking up information on the spiders, or the boys were, Phoenix was meditating trying to get Tarkar's and her own mind to connect so they can meet face to face. She wanted to talk to him face to face since he's the only one that doesn't know who Kurapika is and his opinion won't be biased.

Taking a deep breath Phoenix closed her eyes as she let her ten shroud her as she concentrated on Tarkar and nothing else. She pictured herself standing in front of him in her mindscape. She let herself only think about that for about half an hour before sighing in disappointment and opening her eyes to see that she was still in the café.

Frowning Phoenix stood up from where she sat cross legged on the floor to sit in the chair next to Killua. Said boy looked over her with a questioning look, curious about what she was doing.

Phoenix just smiled and shook her head, not ready to tell him about Tarkar just yet.

"No good. I've got nothing" Leorio complained as he leant back in his chair.

"Two million reward per spider is attractive, but finding them will be impossible" Killua commented.

"Yeah…" Gon agreed, "Hey, we could ask for concrete information on the net. Like the Troupe's current location. We could offer a large reward" He said optimistically.

"Hold on…" Leorio interrupted, "We don't have the money for that"

Gon smiled as he started to look through his pocket, "It'll be fine" He said as he pulled out his Hunter's License.

The next day the four were standing inside an office like building where Gon had just sold his Hunter's license much to Phoenix's displeasure.

"That's crazy" Leorio muttered as he looked at the money Gon had got for his licence, "You actually have money"

"Man, you really pawned your Hunter's License? You're insane" Killua said kind of indifferent about what Gon did with his license but he could understand Phoenix's disapproval.

"So, what should we do first?" Gon asked looked at his friends.

Phoenix sighed deciding to let it go for now, "We should purchase a Southernbees catalogue" She said before leading the three out and towards the auction building.

There they bought a catalogue and sat at one of the couches to have a look through what was for sale. The couch wasn't overly large so Phoenix was sitting on the arm of the couch next to Killua.

The three watched as Gon flipped through the catalogue to find _Greed Island_ until he finally found it.

"Seven total copies on sale…" Leorio read.

"The minimum starting bid is 8.9 billion. Just as expected" The ex-assassin commented before Phoenix fell onto his lap from leaning over too far, making the both of them blush like crazy and the other two to laugh at them.

"Now we wait for the information to come in" Leorio told the three as they were walking around the markets in the city. "First, we catch one of the spiders and make them tell us where the rest of them are hiding, so that we can bag them all!"

Phoenix stopped walking when Gon moved over to the side and picked up a fancy looking knife. Walking over curious Phoenix bent down next to him getting a closer look at the knife, it took her a moment before it clicked just what kind of knife that was.

"What's wrong, Gon, Phoenix?" Leorio asked when he and Killua noticed that the two weren't with them anymore.

"This is…" Gon started not sure what to say.

"It's a Ben's Knife" Phoenix explained as Leorio and Killua came over and joined her.

"A Ben's Knife?" Gon asked.

Phoenix was going to answer but Killua beat her to the punch, "A hundred years ago, a mass murder designed it. He was a famous blacksmith. This is one of his original works. It's a lesser known piece that a lot of rabid collectors are after. So, you recognized it."

"No, I didn't" Gon said making Killua look at him but Phoenix took the knife from him since he took it from Gon and examined it more closely.

Taking a wild guess Phoenix just Gyo and noticed that the blade was covered in aura. "It has an aura, that must have been what drew your attention Gon. Sensei said that sometimes people can use their nen unknowingly if they a master at something, so I guess if the murdering blacksmith was a master then it's not surprising that his creations have an aura" Phoenix explained to not only Gon but Killua and Leorio too. You never know when information like that will come in handy.

"Wow" Gon said in awe, "You're right, it caught my eye so I got curious and used Gyo" He admitted, "That's when I noticed a faint aura on it"

"Gyo?" Leorio asked confused.

"A form of Nen. Basically, you look really hard at something" Killua quickly explained before using said technique, "You two are right"

Leorio took the knife from Phoenix and started to stare really hard at the knife, all it did was make him look like he was in pain. "Nope, I don't see a thing"

"You will, once you spent more time training in Ren" Gon encouraged.

"Right! There's another way!" Killua exclaimed excited.

"Another way?" Phoenix mumbled.

"Another way to make money. Remember how four-eyes and Phoenix mentioned that really talented people use nen without realising it themselves?" He further explained.

"Four-eyes?" Leorio and Phoenix asked confused.

"Wing-san. He taught us Nen" Killua informed the two before getting back on topic, "If we search for items with aura on them, like this knife, it's likely some genius made them"

"I get it. We can find hidden gems with no formal appraisal training. Then we auction the items at a higher price!" Gon commented.

"If you guys want that, write down your price" The stall owner interrupted the four.

The three boys looked confused before Killua asked what needed to be asked, "Customers are supposed to name their own prices?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's how this market works" The stall owner said.

Phoenix nodded her head in agreement, "You have to write down what you're willing to pay so that when the time limit for that item expirers the bidder with the highest bid wins the item" She added.

The owner nodded impressed at the young girl's knowledge, "Understand? Popular items will see their prices shoot up" He finished the explanation.

"I get it now" Killua said. Phoenix took the knife from Leorio before writing her name and the price she was willing to bid before the four walked a few feet from the stall, "Well, then let's get started"

"I'll check the online forums" Leorio said since he couldn't use Gyo like the three younger teens.

"Okay" Gon said before the four went their own way, Phoenix walked with Killua silently for a while before the two came across a street that went two ways. The two went their separate ways and agreed to call the other when they're finished.

Looking around while using Gyo Phoenix didn't notice anything that was letting off an aura until she walked past a shady looking stall that seemed to sell creepy little trinkets. The thing that got her attention was what looked like a purified egg. It was scaly looking and a dark green colour. The aura around it seemed to actually be from something living and not an aura that comes form something made by a genius.

Looking up at the stall owner, "What is this?" She asked pointed to the egg.

The stall owner looked down at the egg, "It's said to be a dragon's eggs but it never hatched and over time it turned to stone" She said with a kind smile.

Phoenix looked down at the dragon egg in wonder, "Dragons were meant to have disappeared a long time ago, where did you get it?" She whispered in awe.

The owner looked stunned, "I didn't know anyone who even knew of that legend. Where did you hear it, my dear?" She asked curious.

"I've done a lot of reading in my life and dragons were just one of the many topic's I've come across. It also helps that I know some powerful people who know quite a few legends" She giggled.

The stall owner chuckled to herself before gently picking up the egg and handing it to Phoenix who cradled it in her hands as if it would break if she wasn't gentle.

' _What do you think Tarkar?'_ She asked the dragon inside of her.

Tarkar didn't say anything for a moment as he observed the egg though Phoenix's eyes before his golden eyes, _**'Kid you need to get that egg! It's not dead! It's still alive and you are the only one who will be able to raise and take care of the hatchling'**_ He said in his deep voice.

Phoenix didn't say anything for a moment just took it all in before looking back at the stall owner, "How much do you want for it?" She asked seriously, "I know that it's not that kind of market but I really want this egg" She explained trying not to give too much away.

The stall owner didn't say anything before letting out her kind smile again, "It's yours my dear" At Phoenix surprised expression she chuckled again, "You are the first person who has ever even looked at the egg and you probably know more about dragons then I do. It'll be better off in your hands" She said kindly.

Phoenix gave the stall owner a bright smile before unwrapping her scarf before wrapping it around the egg to try and keep it as warm as possible until she got back to the hotel where she could use her nen to heat it up. "Thank you so much miss, you don't know how much this means to me" She said as she bowed in gratitude.

The stall owner just smiled before waving the young girl off. Phoenix gave her one more smile before going on her way using Gyo again.

Phoenix pulled her phone out of her pocket when it started to ring, "Hello?" She answered.

"Phoenix, it's Gon and Killua" Killua replied. The three were obviously in a joint call. The three quickly explained about what they had found so far. Agreeing that the three will ignore Zepile who kept placing bids on some of the items that the three were bidding on and just keep putting up bids for the items that had aura around them.

Around midday the three meet up and were on their way to the auction house. Gon had won a statue, Killua a doll and Phoenix a painting.

"So ultimately, we won three and lost two" Killua commented.

"Yeah, he got the weird looking pot and someone else got the knife" Gon added.

"Well, that wasn't too bad" Phoenix finished ignoring the feeling of being watched.

"Let's take these to the auction house now" Killua said but sadly they couldn't sell in the auction because the catalogue had already been purchased but the worker was very kind to recommend them to try out the trade market instead.

"The trade market… Professionals will be here, so if one of these is genuine, we should get a great price" Gon said as the three walked towards a place that they could sell their findings.

"I wanted to sell these at the auction, though" Killua commented disappointed.

"How much do you think we'll get?" Gon asked his two friends.

"Hmm, it depends how if we go to someone who will try to rip us off and if these items are even worth much" Phoenix commented before the three went inside a shop that had a variety of items all around the front and the inside. The three went up to the front counter where Killua lied and said that they found these in his basement and his father wanted him to sell them.

"Oh, you found these in your cellar?" The shop keeper asked.

"Yep!" Killua said innocently and a fake blush across his cheeks, his voice was rather cute like that Phoenix thought with a small blush, "Dad said to sell them if the price was right"

Phoenix and Gon gave innocent grins to the shop keeper to keep up their act, "These are wonderful pieces. Only fifty copies were painted, and yours has a single digit serial number. And an authentic autograph. I'd guess it's worth at least 150,000" He explained making the three grin to each other before the shop keeper picked up the doll Killua won, "This antique doll is also excellent… it's in great shape, and the pristine condition of both the box and doll raise the value. I'm estimating 300,000. However, this one isn't worth much, unfortunately" He said sadly about the statue.

Phoenix narrowed her eyes slightly at the glint at the mans eye, "Why's that mister?" She asked quietly.

"The box and statue are from different periods. The box was made recently. The statue is rough and doesn't adhere to any theme. I'd say it's worth 1,500 Jenny. However, that would be its appraisal as an artwork. The wood itself is very valuable. So, I'll make you an offer. If you sell me the painting and doll for 420,000, I'll buy the wood for 80,000" He offered.

"A total of 500,000?" Killua asked, "What do you think?" He asked his two friends.

"Feel free to think it over" The shop keeper said, "But I doubt anyone will quote you a better price. In the meantime, let me check this wood's age" He said about to head to the back.

"Wait!" Phoenix suddenly said dropping her fake act, "You said that it's very valuable but you only offered 80,000 for it. You offered us 150,000 for the painting and 300,000 for the doll, if the wood was so valuable then why is the price so low?" She asked with narrowed eyes making the man sweat.

"It's not the wood he wants" A voice said as someone came into the store, Phoenix didn't turn to look at him like her two friends did because she didn't want to let the shop keeper out of her sight.

"W-who're you?" The shop keeper asked as he tried to ignore Phoenix's glare that was making him break into a cold sweat much to Killua's amusement.

"Don't let him scam you kids" The stranger said, "Like the young lady said he's offering a fair price for the painting and doll, but he's lying about the statue!"

"I-I never lied!" The shop keeper stuttered.

"No collector would pay 80,000 for that wood. You're interested in the contents of that statue! It's a wooden trove. Three hundred years ago, these were a popular way for the wealthy to hide their money" The stranger said.

"What do you mean?" Phoenix asked finally looking at him and raised an eyebrow at his large and bushy ones.

"If it's real, there should be valuables inside. You planned to steal the contents, while pretending to check its age!"

"I-I would never do that" The shop keeper stuttered again.

"Wait!" Another new voice spoke as a large man came out from the back room and joined the five the front of the store, "Can you prove that this is a genuine wooden trove?" He asked.

"What?" The stranger asked a little annoyed that the new man was talking down to him.

"The wood is certainly over three hundred years old. But that only tells the material's age. The statue itself could be modern. The technique is known as hoodwinking, kids" The new man explained to the three friends.

Seeing their confused expressions, the bushy eyebrow eye explained, "He's referring to a counterfeit trying to trick a professional appraiser. But that isn't what I'm doing. Here's a seam that an amateur would never recognize. The seam contains an adhesive used back in that period"

"You're insisting that this is a real wooden trove?" The large man asked smugly.

"Yeah" He said confidently

"But it's possible that it was opened once to swap out it's contents, and the statue was reassembled. We'd call that a dud" The large man counted. "It's called double-dipping, placing new adhesive on top of the old to create a dud. But only an amateur would try that"

Phoenix sighed in boredom at the males just kept going, she decided to just block them out and looked down at her egg that she was holding in the crook of her arm against her stomach. She ran a finger over the scales and smiled slightly at the smooth feeling of the egg. She couldn't wait until it hatched! She wondered if it would look like Tarkar or if it was a different kind of dragon.

Phoenix was snapped out of her thoughts when the sound of jewels and coins hitting a hard surface sounded in front of her, looking up she saw the appraiser guy had won and opened the wooden trove which held a bunch of gems and gold.

"Wow! Awesome!" Killua and Gon exclaimed.

Phoenix grinned at treasure and giggled silently to herself when she heard Tarkar purring at the riches in front of her. She thought that dragons loving jewels and gold was just a myth but she guessed not. Looking at her two friends she smiled to herself at how amazed they looked as they stared at the treasure. Looking at Killua's shining eyes make Phoenix's heart skip a beat but she ignored it for now.

 **A/N: A second chapter within a few hours! Merry Christmas everyone, this will be the last chapter until after Christmas I'm afraid. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and Happy New Year.**

 **If anyone was to beta my story or knows someone who will please let me know, it'll mean a lot to me.**

 **So Phoenix is finally going to get her animal companion soon, I'm thinking of having it hatch just at the end of this arc so the baby dragon is there for the Greed Island and the Chimera Ant arc.**

 **Answer from last chapter: I'm thinking of basing Phoenix's attacks off of Natsu Dragneel's from fairy tail but chancing the names, let me know what you think.**

 **Question of the chapter: What should the baby dragons name be?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Gon, Killua and Phoenix left the pawn store with everything that they had won at the market with the bushy eyebrowed stranger.

"Oh, so you're Zepile" Killua stated as they all walked together.

"Thanks, Zepile-san" Gon said gratefully.

"You don't need to thank me" The older male replied, "Consider it give and take. Twenty percent sounds fair"

Phoenix raised where eyebrow at that, "Twenty percent of what exactly?" She asked a little suspicious.

"My cut when you sell the treasure" Was the males reply.

Phoenix glared at the man but Killua was the one who answered, "What? You're going to rob us?" He exclaimed annoyed.

"That's uncalled for. It's my fee for providing advice" Zepile explained.

"I don't see the problem. He helped us back there" Gon said trying to calm his two ticked off friends.

"Now, look here… we need to collect as much Jenny as we possibly can. I might be willing to buy him lunch" Killua proclaimed.

"Plus, we never even asked for any of his help, so he's actually scamming us" Phoenix said gently to Gon knowing that he was a little naïve when it came to this kind of stuff.

"Scamming?" Zepile whispered before chuckling sheepishly and letting it go, "Really? Well I'll settle for lunch" He said much to the threes surprise.

So, with that the four went to a nearby restaurant where they all got lunch but Zepile got what seemed to be one of everything much to Killua's annoyance.

"So, Zepile-san… I feel bad, so we'll pay you a fee" Gon offered from his seat next to Zepile.

"There you go again" Killua said annoyed while Phoenix sighed from her seat next to the white-haired boy.

"Nah, it really is okay. In return, just tell me something. What tipped you off to bid on these items?" Zepile asked.

Gon looked over at his two friends across from him a little unsure if he should tell Zepile about Nen or not, "Is it okay to tell him the truth?" He asked.

"Well, it beats paying him" Killua commented with the toxic green-eyed girl nodding her agreement, plus they don't have to tell him everything about nen just the basics.

Together the three explained the basics of what nen is to the male. He seemed shocked that a power like that even existed in the first place but he believed them surprisingly.

"I see, Nen aura… if your telling the truth, that explains why you bought the statue, not realising something was hidden inside" Zepile said mostly to himself. "So, why do you need money so badly?" He asked then.

"We can answer that questions, but not for free" Phoenix said before the boys had a chance. She was rewrapping the egg into her scarf after checking it to see if it was still okay and warm enough for now.

"Afterwards, you have to answer our question" Killua continued on for the now distanced girl, to be honest he was wandering where she had even got that egg and what it was for.

"Sure, that's fine" Zepile answered happily.

"There's an item we want to buy at the auction. That's why we need money" Killua answered the question from before.

"Oh, which item are you interested in?" The adult asked then.

"It's our turn now" Killua declared not answering the question at all, "You estimated that this treasure was worth 300 million, right? Could we receive that much at the trade market?"

At this Phoenix looked up from her wrapping to see what the male was going to answer, she noted absentmindedly that Gon had done the same thing, "At the trade market? They mainly deal in hard cash… if you show up abruptly, you won't get a fair price" He explained disappointing the three. "Now it's my turn. I'll repeat the question. Which item do you want?" He asked again.

"A game called _Greed Island_ " The ex-assassin answered.

"Oh, that ridiculously expensive game?" Zepile commented.

"How much is that weird pot that you bought worth?" Killua then asked.

Phoenix then noted that Killua had taken control of this questions exchange business, not that she really minded.

"Huh? This? It's garbage. Nothing at all. Why do you want that expensive game? I believe that it cost 6 billion" Zepile inquired.

"The asking price is 8.9 billion. We're looking for his dad" Killua said pointing to Gon, "That game has a clue inside. Why did you choose that pot? If you knew the wooden trove was real, shouldn't you have bid on the more valuable item? But you went for that pot. Why?"

Zepile looked at the wrapped-up pot next to him in what Phoenix thought to be shame, "You see… I made this pot. But it wasn't an original creation. It was a replica" He explained as he placed the pot on the table after he unwrapped it, "In other words, a counterfeit. When I was destitute, this was how I made Jenny. Once I become an appraiser and began earing money, I quit doing that. When I see how poorly these are made, I feel mortified. So, I browser the markets and buy them back"

"How much would a real one cost?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"It's my turn" Zepile said putting his hand up, stopping Phoenix from asking another question, much to her annoyance, "What does your dad do?" He asked Gon.

"He's a pro hunter" Gon answered happily.

"How much would a real one cost?" Phoenix asked again with a little annoyance in her tone.

"Forty to fifty thousand" He answered dismissively and turning back to Gon. Phoenix grit her teeth together to stop herself from snapping at the man, she didn't know why but she really didn't like him. "Is that so? A pro hunter, huh? There are a few in the antiques world, and not one of them are ordinary. Won't it be impossible for you three to find him alone?" He asked not noticing the tick mark on Phoenix's forehead but Killua did and he watch her from the corner of his eye not sure of how the girl is when she's really annoyed, like right now.

"It'll be fine. Me and Phoenix are pro hunters, too" Gon said proudly.

Zepile jolting if shock from the piece of information, "Huh? Seriously?" He asked disbelieving looking between the two in shock, they could only be twelve years old, how did they become pro hunters?

Gon nodded his assurance, "Okay, your turn to ask a question"

Zepile didn't say anything for a few seconds before straightening his back and looking at Gon with a serious face but a friendly smile, "Okay, this is my finally question. Can I help you with anything?" He asked stunning the three friends, "If you want to make money at an auction, you'll need an appraiser. You could say that with an appraiser, you can always turn a profit. You can set the price you want to pay me. How's that?"

The three shared a seriously look before they all looked at the appraiser in front of them, "Then you have to answer our last question. Why do you want to help us?" Gon asked in a serious tone.

Zepile didn't say anything for a moment to collect his thoughts, "Because it made me happy… it made me happy that this piece of junk actually caught your eye"

Gon suddenly stood up knocking the table as the same time making Phoenix's egg rock which she quickly grabbed before it could roll away, even though it was wrapped in her scarf, "It's not a piece of junk!" He exclaimed. "It definitely holds your nen. Everyone has some aura… but it's incredibly difficult to harness! You must concentrate and train for a very long time, I can tell how much effort you put into making that pot! You have a lot of talent! I still think it's a weird pot though" Gon spoke with passion. Killua and Phoenix exchanged an amused smile at Gon's last words.

Zepile smiled to himself as he took a sip from his coffee, "My eyes didn't deceive me. When you appraise objects long enough, you also become a good judge of character. I look at the sellers and the buyers too, not just the merchandise. It's a lot harder to appraise humans than it is to appraise antiques. When I saw you, I knew right away…That I wanted to work with you. That's my answer. What's yours?"

The three all nodded to each other in agreement because even though Phoenix didn't really like the way he dismissed her before that didn't mean that she wouldn't use his help if they needed it. "Looking forward to it" Gon told him with a smile.

"We'll decide your fee after we see how you do" Killua added.

Zepile grinned at them happily, "Okay! That's settled…"

"But first…" Gon interrupted, "Teach me those techniques you talked about earlier"

"You're interested?" The older male asked surprised.

"Yep! Hoodwinking, double-dipping, welding… what else is there?" Gon asked listening off the different techniques he's already learnt from Zepile.

"Seriously… that isn't important at all!" Killua scolded his friend.

Phoenix watched amused as Gon defended himself, it was always funny whenever Killua would scold their naïve friend. The young girl giggled to herself before telling them that they should get a move on so others can use their table since they had finished their lunch.

The others agreed and together they went a go sit down on the outskirts of the markets. There Zepile bought a toy from a nearby machine and went back over to the three friends.

"Welding is the hardest technique to see through" He started his lesson, "But recently a new technique has surfaced. It's known as exposing" Here he opened the toy shell to reveal a toy dog inside, he took out the toy and replaced it with a leaf, "You plainly reveal the opened statue along with the fake treasure. Because people assume that you wouldn't open the statue if the treasure were fake, you can fool them. But this technique is getting old" He said as he put the toy dog back into the plastic case. "When people started to get suspicious, a new technique emerge. Can you guess what it is?" He asked.

"I know" Gon said happily, "The treasure inside is also fake!"

"Wrong!" Zepile said simply.

"I know" Killua said wanting to take a guess, "Remove the treasure from a different place!"

"Bingo! You can create a new opening and remove the treasure, then insert fake treasure and seal the hole. This is known as side-stepping" Zepile explained.

"Side-stepping" Phoenix muttered to herself thinking about all the different ways one would use side-stepping, "You could use side-stepping in things other then hiding the treasure in the statue, right?" She asked then.

Zepile smiled proudly, "You're right little lady. Many veteran appraisers have been fooled. They assume the statue is real if the adhesive hasn't changed colour from the application of fire. That's how they fool the pros" He finished.

Gon let out a happy sigh, "You live in an incredible world"

Before Gon could continue, Phoenix's phone started to ring, "Hello?" She answered. She listened to the person on the other line which was Leorio tell her about the information that he had collected and gasped, "A spider? Are you sure?" She asked and listened as Leorio told her about the video he was sent of the two troupe members. Hanging up after telling Leorio to text her where to meet she stood up and turned to Killua and Gon who was watching her with serious expressions, "Killua, Gon, let's go"

"Yeah" They said as they started to leave, leaving the things they bought with Zepile but not the dragon egg, Phoenix made sure that she was still holding it securely.

"Hey! What about the auction?" Zepile called out to the three young teens that took off.

The three stopped and looked back at the man they had employed, "We'll let you handle it!" Gon called out.

"Try to get us a good price!" Killua added.

"Good luck!" Phoenix finished before the three took off to the café that Leorio said to meet at.

The three had meet up with Leorio and all four were sitting in a café upstairs where they could get the perfect view of the two targets. Phoenix breathed a silent breath that it wasn't Feitan that they were going after but two people that she hasn't seen before. It was the pink hair women and the male samurai that they were hoping to catch today.

Leorio quickly called the people who let them know that two of their targets are. He let them know that he has wired the money to their account and for them to leave now that their job was finished.

"Okay, we should decide out next move. How do we catch those two?" Leorio asked the three hoping that one of them had a good plan.

"It's impossible" Killua stated, "We aren't strong enough to handle them. Phoenix would put up the best fight but she'd still be killed"

At this Phoenix pouted slightly but she knew that Killua was just being honest and she agreed with him, she wasn't strong enough to take on someone from the troupe just yet.

"What was that?" Leorio asked standing up annoyed, "We won't know until we try! And why are you saying this now?!"

"Be quiet and sit down! They'll notice us!" Phoenix was quick to quietly scold the older teen.

One Leorio had seated himself again Killua explained his reasons of doubt, "But it's still true. I knew it as soon as I saw them. My dad once had a hit on a troupe member. One of the few times I've heard him complain. Said the job wasn't worth the price. That's considered the greatest compliment a target can get. That was when he told us to stay away from the troupe. It's been a few years, so I thought we might stand a chance…"

"They're really that strong?" Leorio asked now worried.

"Of course, they did massacre Kurapika's whole clan in a single night" Phoenix said with a blank look, "Would it help you to picture two Hisoka's sitting there?" She asked then trying to get a point across.

"This is definitely not something we can handle" Leorio whispered hauntingly.

"So, why do you think they're here?" Killua asked.

"Aren't they on a date?" Leorio asked stupidly.

"Huh? Really?" Gon asked believing Leorio's nonsense making Phoenix sigh in defeat.

"No, they noticed that other couple behind them. They'll be paying close attention to their surroundings. At first I thought that it was just caution because the mafia put a hit on their heads but if that were the case then they wouldn't be sitting in a public place" Phoenix explained to the two simple minded males in front of her.

Killua nodded his agreement before taking over the explanation, "They aren't worried at all. They're waiting for someone to find them. Acting as bait to draw out their prey"

Phoenix stiffened at the raising pressure and tension coming from the two troupe members in the court but relaxed after a few seconds, the three boys took a little longer.

"The atmosphere changed" Killua commented.

"I've got a really bad feeling…" Gon muttered.

"Did they notice us?" Leorio asked.

"It's okay. If they had noticed us we would definitely know" Phoenix reassured, "They're probably talking about something that's got them disagreeing"

"Are you sure?" Leorio asked the young girl, "Besides I can't use Zetsu like you guys to mask my presence"

"If we used Zetsu, that would attract their attention" Killua said simply. "They aren't trying to sense nen. They're trying to see if anyone in this area who looks or acts suspicious. So, you'd better wipe those looks of your faces. Act normal" Once he said that Gon and Leorio put on some stupid face that made Phoenix giggle to herself and Killua to deadpan, "Sorry, that was a bad idea"

The four sat in silence for a good five minutes before the to troupe members got up and started to leave, "They're on the move. What should we do?" Phoenix asked looking to Killua knowing that he was the best when it came to strategizes.

"As I told you, we can't beat them in a fight" Killua started.

"We'll find a way…" Leorio stated, "We have to"

"Yeah. We can't leave empty-handed" Gon said agreeing with Leorio.

"Okay. Then listen carefully. Gon, Phoenix and I will tail them. We absolutely cannot let them spot us. We'll use Zetsu" At this Killua activated his Zetsu with Phoenix and Gon following suit, "Gon, I need you to make me two promises. If they see us, we give up immediately and escape. If I judge that further pursuit is impossible for any other reason, we give up. Got it?"

"Uh-huh" Gon agreed with Phoenix nodding her agreement as well, knowing that while Gon was the most likely to ignore the warning signs and keep going that Killua was also explaining to her about when it would be best to quit.

"The signal to stop will be one phone call. Make sure your phone's on vibrate. If they spilt up, we follow the woman. Leorio, contact Zepile, and keep an eye on the auction for us" The ex-assassin instructed.

"Got it" Leorio said as they make it to the court downstairs.

"I'm guessing you've never tailed anyone before" Killua comment turning to Phoenix and Gon.

"I used to hunt animals whenever me and Kurapika had to camp out in forests and stuff so I know how to shadow someone" Phoenix said making Killua nod before turning to Gon.

"Um… well… during the Hunter Exam, I trailed Hisoka" Gon said a little hesitantly.

"Really? Without his noticing?" Killua asked surprised but Phoenix knew that already from when she listened in to his and Kurapika's conversation after the fourth phase.

"Yeah, I was on his tail for a whole day" Gon explained.

"Wow, not bad!" Leorio complimented. But Killua smack him across the head much to Phoenix's surprise.

"Ow… why did you hit me?" Gon whined in pain.

"Uh, it seemed appropriate" Was all he said about the matter making Phoenix sigh again for the thousandth time that day. "Well then you two should have no problem. Be sure to stay out of their field of vision. Okay let's go"

With that the three young teens went off to follow the two troupe members while Leorio went to meet up with Zepile. But before Phoenix went off with the boys she gave her scarf and egg to Leorio with a warning that if anything happened to it she'd seriously hurt him.

The three spilt up once they had the troupe members back in their sights. Killua went to the roof of a building to get a bird's eye view, Gon was on the ground on the opposite side of the street to where Killua was and Phoenix was making her way to the front of the troupe members. Currently she had her phone against her ear as she was running down a street away from the troupe.

"The targets have passed the plaza and entered a side street" Killua voice said quietly from Phoenix's phone.

"Okay. Confirmed" Gon said back.

Phoenix took a moment before she spotted the two from behind some crates in an alley, "I've sighted them" She whispered.

"Do they know we're here?" Gon asked then.

"It's okay. We're using Zetsu, so they shouldn't notice us unless something's really wrong. But they're on constant guard against pursuers, so stay vigilant" Killua warned before they all hung up.

Phoenix waited until the two had completely past her and were a few meters away before dashing back down the alley and onto the street she was previously on. She made sure that while she was using Zetsu that she stayed tuned in to the two troupe members nen so she wouldn't lose them nor get caught off guard.

It was when the two started to head towards a deserted area that Phoenix knew that they knew they were being followed and trying to bait the three into showing themselves. Since she couldn't just use another street to watch them Phoenix had to get a little closer which meant that she was going to have a higher chance of being caught.

Taking a silent but deep breathe she jumped over the tall wooden fence that surrounded the street they were walking on.

Once they had come to an area where there was a bunch of abandoned houses Phoenix quickly jumped through one of the broken windows and crouched down. Crawling like a gorilla with her hands and feet she crept over to a window that faced the street, she peered over to see them still walking onward with a carefree air around them.

The two troupe members only stopped when they were in the middle of a courtyard of what seemed to be an abandoned hospital. Phoenix didn't know where Killua nor Gon were just that she was facing the troupe members backs. She could tell that the two were talking but she couldn't hear them from so far away.

Feeling her phone vibrate in her back pocket she pulled it out to see that Gon was calling. Answering it she knew that it was a three-way call, "Well, Phoenix, Killua?" Gon asked wanting to know what to do next.

"They're waiting for someone or trying to lure us out" Killua whispered.

"One or the other" Phoenix mumbled before hearing a slight beep from her phone, looking she widened her eyes, her battery was about to die, "Guys my phones about to die" She said urgently.

"Alright, just stay where you are, we'll signal you somehow about what we're going to do. Be safe" Killua instructed the young girl.

Phoenix nodded and hung up before turning around quickly thinking she heard something. Narrowing her eyes, she slowly crept to the doorway and peeked out to see a tall blonde man smirking right at her.

"Hello there, kid" He said smugly.

Phoenix didn't say anything but she came out of her hiding spot and stood in front of him, "Your part of the Phantom Troupe, right?" She asked monotone.

The man nodded still smirking, "Now I need you to come with me" He said before turning and walking away as he pulled out his phone, probably to call the two they were following. Phoenix sighed in defeat before following him as he led her to another building and to the doorway of the room that Killua was in. Phinks put his hand on Phoenix's shoulder to stop her from running away.

The two watched as Killua bolted towards them but stopped when he saw Phinks and how he had Phoenix. Killua glared at the blonde man as he gave Phoenix a questioning look asking if she was okay which she nodded to.

Phoenix watched as Killua bounced quickly off the walls repeatedly, it was because Phoenix was able to follow his movement that she was able to move out of the way and out of Phinks grip when he tried to bolt past Phinks. But much to both of their surprise his ankle was caught before he even got his head through the doorway.

Phoenix jumped back and got into a defensive position ready to help Killua when she could.

Killua thought fast as he grabbed a couple stones off the floor and threw them at the man who dodged them easily. But the stones were only a distraction from Killua's kick but that was stopped easily as well.

Phoenix watched the ground crack from Killua's grip as he used all of his strength to spin his legs out of Phink's grip before jumping back to Phoenix, skidding to a stop a few feet from the young girl.

"Yo" A voice suddenly spoke behind the two, Killua was the only one who turned around, he moved quickly so the two were back to back, "Phinks, why are you here? Weren't you heading out with the boss?" It was the samurai troupe member that they were following.

"To fool the enemy, you first fool your allies" Phinks said simply.

The samurai chuckled to himself at that, "The boss got me good again. I wondered why there were so many Zetsu masters around" He walked a little closer to the two and gain a dangerous look in his eye, Phoenix feeling that he was more a threat at the moment turned her head to glare at him through the corner of her eye, making Phinks whistle impressed at the scary look in the young girl's eye, "Okay, kid. I have a few questions for you. Question 1… why were you following us? Answer concisely" He asked.

There was a pause before Killua answered honestly, "The mafia has put a huge bounty on your heads. Websites are offering a lot of money just for information on your location"

"Question 2… who taught you to shadow people?" The samurai asked then.

"Well, mainly, I was using Zetsu, a nen ability, to conceal my presence. I'm trying to become a pro hunter. Both of us are" Killua answered not telling them that Phoenix was already a pro hunter.

"Who taught you how to do that?" Was the next question.

"A Shingen-ryu master" Killua answered.

There was a pause as both troupe members looked at Phoenix wanting her to answer the question as well, sighing she gave in, "A nen master" She said simply.

"Question 3…" Samurai guy said next knowing that he wasn't going to get anymore out of the young girl, "Do you know a nen user who fights with chains?"

At this Phoenix turned her head a little more with a confused expression on her face, she had no idea who he was talking about. It was probably someone in the mafia, why would they, a bunch of kids, know anything about that?

"Chains?" The two asked.

"He would be a conjurer or manipulator" He said.

"Does your master have chains hanging from his right arm? Or perhaps it's one of you two " Phinks asked then.

"I don't use chains and he doesn't have a hatsu yet. My master was an enhancer" Phoenix answered for the both of them and Killua nodded his head in agreement.

"My master was also an enhancer and he only taught me the four major principles" Killua said telling them his side.

"I see… well, nothing we can do, if you don't know. Time for the last question then. You have two choices. Consider carefully before you answer. Do you want to die now or later? Make your choice" He asked sinisterly.

"You have three seconds to answer" Phinks added.

Before Phoenix could think of stopping the words they were already out, "Call Feitan!"

Both troupe members paused and stared at the young girl, "What was that kid?" Samurai asked.

"Call Feitan and let me talk to him. We're friends" She explained.

Phinks narrowed his eyes at the young girl who he thought to be stalling for time, "Feitan wouldn't be friends with a little runt like you"

Phoenix glared back at the blonde man, "Call him and if he doesn't know who I am, you can kill me in anyway you want" She smirked ignoring Killua's protests.

Phinks smirked back liking the spunk of the young girl in front of him. Not saying anything he pulled out his phone and called Feitan. Once he answered he told the short male that someone wanted to talk to him.

Catching the phone that was thrown to her she put it onto loud speaker so the two troupe members knew that she was telling the truth. "Feitan. It's Phoenix" She said.

There was a long pause on the other line before Feitan started to speak again, "Little girl, it's been a while" He said.

Phoenix looked at Phinks who was watching surprised that Feitan actually knew the girl, "It has. Feitan your friends are trying to kill me" She said smirking.

The short man might not show it but she knew that he was rather fond of her and wouldn't let her get hurt if he could help it.

"Is that so" He muttered, "Phinks, Nobunaga, if either one of you touch Phoenix, I'll cut your hands off" He threatened.

Nobu and Phinks' eyes widen at Feitan's threat, while they were used to hearing them they knew that he wasn't serious but now he was.

"Oi! Feitan, who is this kid?" Nobu asked annoyed that he was being threatened.

Phoenix look at Killua from the corner of her eye and saw him watching her shocked, he knew of her connect to the troupe member but he was surprise how deep it was.

"She's my student" Was all he said before hanging up.

 **A/N: Finally, Phoenix and Feitan have spoken again and the troupe know of their connect now! Next chapter they're finally going to see each other again! What did you think of how Feitan labelled Phoenix?**

 **If anyone was to beta my story or knows someone who will please let me know, it'll mean a lot to me.**

 **Answer from last chapter: So far I've got a lot of names but haven't decided just yet so keep sending in names.**

 **Question of the chapter: What should the baby dragons name be?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Phoenix and Killua were lead out of the abandoned building by Phinks and Nobu, the two troupe members lead them to a black car. The two were forced into the car where they saw Gon sitting uncomfortably.

Phoenix was forced to sit on Killua's lap because there wasn't enough room for the short haired blond woman, Phinks and the three friends in the backseat.

"I'll ask you once more" The blonde said for the second time since they had started to head to their base, "Do you know the chain user?" She asked.

"My answer is the same. I don't" Gon told her stubbornly.

"I see." Was all she said to him before turning her attention to the two young teens that Phinks and Nobu found, "How about you two? Any guesses?" She asked as she put an arm around Killua and placed her other hand on Phoenix's knee.

Neither Phoenix nor Killua said anything to the women and kept silent. Phoenix was too busy thinking about Feitan to worry about a nen user who uses chains. She was also worried about her egg that she left with Leorio, she trusted him but she just didn't feel right not having it with her, even if she had only got the egg that day.

It wasn't too long before they had arrived at an out of the way bunch of buildings that seemed to be falling apart. It was clear that nobody lived there.

The three were lead inside with the four troupe members surrounding them just in case they tried to escape, not that they would be stupid to do so right at that moment.

"Welcome to our base" The blonde women said as she presented a wide-open room with piles of rubble laying around the room.

Killua and Gon had wide eyes as they looked at all the different troupe members that were just casually hanging around on the rubble. Phoenix locked eyes with Feitan and gave him a small smile which he returned with his smug smirk.

Looking around the room Phoenix paused when here eyes landed on Hisoka before letting her eyes continue roaming around the room freely. Honestly, she wasn't really that surprised that Hisoka was apart of the spiders but she had a feeling there was more to it then what there seemed to be.

There was a long stretch of silence as the boys looked around before Gon let out a surprised noise that gained everyone's attention. Phoenix looked at him from the corner of her eye knowing that he had spotted Hisoka. _'Don't say anything! Don't say anything!'_ She thought to herself.

"What is it?" Nobu asked, "You know someone here too?" He asked remembering that the young girl knew Feitan.

"Ah! No… It's that girl" Killua said trying to cover for Gon as he pointed to the black hair women who arm wrestled against Gon a few days ago.

"Oh? You know them, Shizuku?" Phinks asked the girl reading a book.

Shizuku looked up at the three, "Nope, never seem them before" She said honestly making Phoenix raise her eyebrow at her confused.

Feitan was the one who spoke up next, "Oh, I remember… that arm wrestling kid that hangs around my pupil" He said.

"Pupil?" Gon asked confused.

"He's talking about me, Gon. That's Feitan, the one I told you about" Phoenix explained to him before turning back to the troupe members.

Gon didn't say anything as Shizuku continued as if the two didn't even speak, "Who was that?"

"Two days ago, you lost to that kid at arm wrestling" The large guy with scars on his face explained to the women in a deep voice.

"Lost? I lost?" Shizuku asked in disbelief, "That's a lie. I would never lose to a kid"

"Well, you were using your right hand…" The scar man tried.

"Why? I'm left-handed" She defended.

"Don't bother" Feitan interrupted getting annoyed at the back and forth nonsense, "Once Shizuku's forgotten something, she'll never remember"

"Never mind… I was mistaken" The big guy said backing down.

"Thought so" Shizuku sassed before going back to her book.

"Oh?" Nobu said looking down at Gon who was standing in between Killua and Phoenix, "You actually beat Shizuku?"

Gon nodded as Killua commented, "Never would've imagined she was a troupe member" He lied.

Phoenix watched as Nobu pulled his hair back into a low ponytail, cautious about what he was about to do, "Okay, I'll challenge you"

All Killua and Phoenix could do was watch as Gon and Nobu arm wrestled on a flat piece of rubble. Killua was standing in front of the large guy with scars and Phoenix was standing a little bit in front of Feitan. The two hadn't spoken yet but they both knew that it was only a matter of time.

"One more time" Nobu demanded as he beat Gon once again. Phoenix took note that the back of Gon's hand was all red and was shaking in pain. "Ready… Go"

Phoenix watched as Gon tried his hardest to push the spider's hand down but was struggling to make it even move. _'This is insane. He's not even trying'_ She said in her mind to Tarkar, knowing that he knew that she was talking about Nobu.

' _ **If this keeps up, your friend's hand is going to break'**_ He replied.

Phoenix frowned at the smacking sound of Gon's hand hitting the slab of rubble echoed around the room.

"One more time" Nobu said again as Gon brought his sore hand to connect with the troupe members, "Ready… Go" It was quiet apart from the quiet sounds of Gon struggling, "Hey… When it comes to arm wrestling, what's my rank among the spiders? Seventh or eighth?" He asked the other spiders.

"You're not weak, but you're not strong, either" Machi answered him straightforwardly.

"And the strongest was this guy called Uvogin. But apparently, he was killed by the chain user" Nobu explained making Phoenix's eyes widen at the hidden meaning of the words, he was blaming them.

"We already said we don't know who that is!" Killua shouted annoying, his nerves on edge from what was happening to his best friend, right in front of him.

"Killua" Phoenix suddenly snapped harshly making Killua flinch and shut up, she didn't want to be mean but she knew that Killua needed to calm down and be quiet. She just didn't want him to get hurt.

"Kid!" Nobu said in a stern voice, "You should listen to your little girlfriend because if you speak without permission again, I'll kill you" He threatened.

Killua didn't say anything, he was too shocked at the feel of the bloodlust that came from Nobu to move. Phoenix on the other hand didn't care as she glared harshly at the man, she was about to step forward to defend her friend when a hand grabbed her wrist gently. Looking over her shoulder she was surprised to see Feitan shaking his head at the young girl. Phoenix sighed before relaxing her tense muscles.

"One more time" Nobu said once he knew that the young girl wouldn't cause any trouble. Gon placed his hand in the spiders, preparing himself for the pain that he knew was going to come, "Ready… go"

Phoenix watched as Nobu squeezed Gon hand hard enough to make the small cuts on the back of his hand bleed. She gritted her teeth with her mouth shut as she kept her eyes on the blood that had dripped onto the rubble underneath their hands. She didn't care what Feitan wanted her to do at the moment, she was going to kick that bastards ass if he hurt Gon anymore.

"He was an Enhancer. Simple-minded and straightforward, he loved a good, all-out fight. But he was fussy about time" Nobu started to explain, "He'd get into fights with Franklin and me when we were late. He'd beat the crap out of me in an unarmed brawl… I've known him since before the Troupe was founded. I know him better than anyone. He would never… Uvo would never lose in a fight!" Here Nobu started to get angrier and angrier, making Phoenix ready for anything to happened so she could just jump in a save Gon. "He must've been caught in some dirty trap! I'll make his killer pay!" Phoenix narrowed her eyes as tears fell from the spider's eyes, not feeling sympathetic in the least. "I'll find him, no matter how many I have to kill. The chain user bears a strong grudge against us. The Mafia's Nostrade Family hired him recently"

Phoenix tensed slightly making the connection instantly, _'Kurapika! He killed one of the troupe members! Shit!'_ Phoenix thought to herself in a panic. She kept her face blank at the realisation, not wanting any of the troupe members to know about what she was thinking.

"You might not know him directly, but you may have heard stories of him! Think hard… If you have any guesses, spill them!" Nobu demanded of Gon.

"I don't know anything" Gon said aggressively, obviously not making the connection, "But even if I did, I would never tell you! I thought you were a bunch of heartless monsters, but you'll mourn the death of one of your own?" Gon started to let his nen out making everyone, even his friends tense up. "Why couldn't you spare… spare a fraction of that grief… for the people you've killed?!" As soon as he shouted that he pushed Nobu's hand down.

At the same moment that Gon beat Nobu Phoenix felt a shift in the air behind her and knew that it was Feitan. Without even thinking she jumped behind Gon facing Feitan before he could reach her friend.

Feitan glared at the young girl. The rest of the troupe, although surprised at the young girls speed, got ready in case thing's escalated.

"Move out of the way, little girl!" Feitan demanded.

"If I do that, you'll break Gon's arm" She said in a strong voice with a dangerous glare on her face.

"You're getting too cocky" He said to her stepping closer.

"Phoenix!" Gon and Killua called out. Gon turned around ready to help Phoenix but his shoulder was grabbed by Nobu stopping him from moving. Killua on the other hand was stopped by Hisoka who had one of his playing cards at his neck ready to slice it open if he moved.

There was a pause before Feitan struck at Phoenix with his hand. The young girl was able to block it with her left arm covered in nen. Phoenix's arm shook from the strength of Feitan's arm. Before she could blink Feitan grabbed her wrist before spinning her around and pinning her arm behind her back painfully.

Phoenix gasped in pain before gritting her teeth as Feitan pulled her arm back before stopping just as it was about to break.

Gon and Killua watched worried and a little scared for their friend. They both felt powerless watching as their friend was in pain.

Phoenix took a deep breath and as she let her breath go she pushed her nen out violently in a wave of blue flames.

Feitan let go as soon as he felt Phoenix's skin grow hotter and jumped away, he knew the signs of when she was going to use her Hatsu from the amount of time the two-spent sparing in those six months of her training.

The fire cover girl took a few steps forward before turning around to face Feitan again, ignoring everyone's surprised looks, even her friends. She knew that they'd be surprised as her hatsu ability.

"You've gotten better, little girl" Feitan slightly chuckled as he let his ten cover his body, ready to fight his student.

"Feitan" Nobu suddenly said stopping the two from fighting, "Stop"

"Stop what?" He asked.

"Stop what you're about to do" Nobu replied standing up and letting Gon go.

"You know what I'm about to do?" Feitan asked curious.

"You're about to beat the girl stupid, right?" Nobu stated.

"I might be…" Feitan smirked.

"It doesn't matter. Just stop!" Nobu demanded.

"Why are you giving me order?" Feitan asked annoyed, "I have no reason to listen to you"

Nobu gained a tick mark on his forehead as he slammed his foot against the rubble he was using to arm wrestle. Phoenix didn't take her eyes off of Feitan, just like Feitan never took his eyes off of Phoenix's.

"Hey, quit it, Nobunaga" Franklin cut in.

"Have you forgotten the rules?" Machi asked.

"Troupe members aren't allowed to start serious fights" Shizuku added.

"I know!" Nobu said with a slight whine as he searched his pockets for something, "If there's a dispute, we flip a coin" Pulling out a coin with a twelve-legged spider on it, he flipped it into the air before catching it and placing on his arm with his hand cover it.

"Tails" Feitan said quietly.

"Heads!" Nobu said loudly. Taking his hand away he showed that it was spider said up, "It's heads. Let it go"

Feitan sighed as he let his nen go, Phoenix doing the same, letting the flames soak into her skin leaving no burn marks at all.

"Interesting Hatsu you got there girly" Phinks comment before turning Machi, "Think the boss would be interested?" He asked.

Machi didn't say anything but stared at the young girl, "Most probably. We should keep her around to meet the boss" She answered.

Phoenix's eyes widened at that turning to looked at her friends worried. The two boys looked just as worried if not more worried then she was.

"So, what do we do with them? They haven't told us anything about the chain user yet" Shizuku asked.

"If they don't know anything, we can let the boys go. Well Pakunoda?" Franklin asked the blonde woman from the car.

"I checked on the trip here. They really don't know anything" She explained making Phoenix and Killua share a side glance with each other wondering what she meant she checked.

"You're sure?" Machi asked her.

"Yes. They have no memories of the chain user" Paku said.

' _Memories?'_ Phoenix asked herself.

' _ **She has the ability to see people's memories through touch. When she touched you in the car I stopped her from seeing things that she shouldn't see, like me or who trained you'**_ Tarkar said to the young girl making her let out a silent breath of relief.

"Seems your instinct was off this time" Nobu noted to Machi.

"That's odd…" She mumbled, "Well, if Pakunoda says so, it must be true"

Phoenix watched as Hisoka walked away from Killua and made her way over to her two friends quickly. "Hey, Gon, Phoenix!" Killua whispered to the two gaining their attention, "Did they do anything to you on the way over here?" He asked.

"No, they just asked me a few questions" Gon answered.

"It was when she touched us. That must be her hatsu ability, to see memories through touch" Phoenix said trying to make it sound like a guess and that she didn't know for sure.

"That would make sense" Was all Killua said with a worried look on his face.

"If they have nothing to do with the chain user, we can let the boys go?" Franklin asked again.

"Yeah, there's no point in keeping them here" Shalnark agreed.

"No, we can't be sure they're completely unrelated" Phinks said, "It's possible their being used. If the chain user typically conceals his chains, they wouldn't realize he was the chain user. We shouldn't release them until they tell us who their working for"

"Assuming their working for someone" Shalnark said, "it wouldn't be the chain user. Because he operates alone"

"Then you agree with Nobunaga" Machi stated.

"Rather then use a couple of kids, we can find the information we need through the Nostrade Family. Since we know the chain user's a member" Shalnark explained.

"That's true" Franklin agreed.

"Our target is the chain user. We should ignore everyone else, even the girl" The blonde male said looked at the three friends but mostly Phoenix.

"There you go. You kids are lucky" Feitan told them making Gon stick his tongue out at him and Phoenix to slap her friend upside the head for it.

"No, not yet" Nobu suddenly cut in from where he was sitting, "I won't let him leave" He said looking at Gon, "Kid… join the spiders. Team up with me"

Phoenix moved a little closer to Gon just in case, "No way. I'd rather die than join you guys!" Gon said with heat making Nobu chuckle amused.

"He really hates us… You're an enhancer, right? Nobu asked amused.

"What if I am?!" Gon said without thinking making Phoenix sigh.

"I knew it!" Nobu laughed, "Hey! We're keeping them here until the boss gets back" Nobu told the rest of the troupe, "I'm going to recommend we recruit them"

"I can understand the girl but are you serious about the boys?" Phinks asked.

"The boss will never agree to that" Feitan commented.

"Well it's your call" Machi said unconcerned., "But you have to watch them. You can't blame us if they escape"

 **A/N: So Phoenix and Feitan finally meet again. But why the tension?**

 **I now have a beta: (Quotev) so a big thank you to them for the help**

 **Answer from last chapter: So far I've got a lot of names but haven't decided just yet so keep sending in names.**

 **Question of the chapter: What should the baby dragons name be?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review I would really appreciate it.**


	25. authors note

hey guys, im really sorry that i havent postrd anything but i have no intetnet, im currently writing this authors note on my phone. i wont be gettingnit back for a least a week so i wont be posting until then. im really sorry.


	26. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

The three friends were currently sitting in a small dark room with only a few candles to light the room. The three were being guarded by Nobu who seated himself in front of the door, the only exit in the room.

Phoenix was holding onto Gon's injured hand, wrapping it in a piece of her tank top that she had ripped off.

"Ow…" Gon winced as his friend tied the make shift bandage.

"Sorry" Phoenix whispered before standing up and moving to the side of the room where she leant against the wall.

Looking at her friends she frowned sadly, she couldn't protect them when they needed her. If only she was stronger than they wouldn't be in here right now.

Phoenix looked at Killua when he jerked his head upwards a small bit. His sapphire blue eyes had a haunted look in them that seemed to dull the vibrant colour Phoenix liked so much. She wondered what was wrong with him.

"You're wrong!" He suddenly shouted standing up making everyone jump. Phoenix quickly tensed up and looked at Nobu when she realised that Killua's aura was surrounding him a deep blue mist.

Nobu make a noise of amusement as he also stood up and got ready to draw his sword, "Scary…" He mused staring at Killua's glare. "You look like you want to kill me. Let me warn you first" He said as he activated his own aura, "Step into my range and I'll cut you down"

Phoenix didn't take her eyes off of the swordsman until she heard Gon call out to Killua. Looking over she took a step forward when she realised that Killua was walking forward. Just as the young girl was about to step in Killua snapped out of whatever he was thinking and walked back over to Gon, letting her breath a sigh of relief.

She watched as he walked over to the wall and punched it, leaving a fist size hole with cracks surrounding it, before sitting down again.

Phoenix only relaxed when Nobu sat back down. Looking around the room she tried to think of a way to get out. There weren't any windows in the room and the only exit was being guarded by Nobu.

Looking at the hole Killua made in the wall she tried to think of something that would help them.

Roughly an hour went by as the four sat in a tension filled silence. Gon was the one to break it, "Is Leorio okay?" He asked his friends curious, "I hope he was about to find Zepile-san. Killua, are you okay?" He asked when he noticed him shaking.

"Yeah" Was all he said with a dull voice.

Phoenix furrower her eyebrows at the young boy's tone, not liking the defeat that she heard in it. Pushing off the wall she moved so she was sitting in between the boys. Reaching over she took his clasped hands and threated her fingers in between his, trying to show him her support. She didn't even think about her actions, it just felt natural that she would support him this way.

"Hey, Zepile-san taught us wielding, exposing… what else was there?" Gon asked looking at the two holding hands. He didn't say anything about it for now.

"I forgot" Killua said quietly squeezing Phoenix's hand.

"It was side-stepping" Phoenix told Gon before jerking her head up a lot like Killua had done earlier, she gained everyone's attention doing on, even Killua's who hadn't looked up from the floor since he sat down.

Standing up Phoenix let go of Killua's hand, noting absently how cold and empty her hand was. Turning around so she was facing the back wall she stared intently at the hole again before looking at Gon determinedly.

Just as she was going to hint at her plan Killua spoke first, "Gon, Phoenix. I'll act as a decoy. Use that chance to escape"

Phoenix frowned at the boy while Gon looked at his crossly, "What are you talking about?"

"Seriously? Forget it. You're smart enough to know how much stronger I am. There won't be any chances" Nobu explained.

"Shut up!" Killua retorted but Phoenix had a feeling that he wasn't only talking to Nobu for some reason, "I won't know until I try!" He said making Nobu shake his head at his foolishness.

Gon stood up and went over to Killua putting his hand on his shoulder, Phoenix stayed where she was for the time being. "Killua, what are you thinking?" Gon asked worriedly.

"I'll stop his shodachi, even if it kills me. Use that chance to run away!" Killua explained heatedly.

Phoenix only blinked surprised when Gon actually hit Killua upside the head. She really wasn't expecting him to do that.

Killua grabbed his best friends collar angerly, "What was that for?!" He shouted.

"Don't be so selfish!" Gon yelled back and Phoenix made her way forward and push between the two.

"Stop it you two! This isn't the time!" She said annoyed that they would start a fight between the two right here and right now.

Sadly, she was ignored as Gon continued to scold their friend as if Phoenix didn't say anything, "Don't talk about dying like it's nothing!"

"What?!" Killua shouted back pushing against Phoenix's hand that was on his chest to hold him back, just like her other hand was on Gon's chest fort he same reason, "You did the same thing earlier!"

"I'm allowed to do it!" Gon rebutted, "But you aren't!"

"Huh?" Killua shouted confused before suddenly Phoenix fist came down on both of the boy's heads, she had enough of the two yelling while she was standing right in the middle of them!

"Would both of you shut up! All your shouting is hurting my ears!" She yelled at them watching as they rubbed their heads.

Nobu suddenly started to laugh at the way the three were acting, "You can't use logic against an enhancer…" He said amused.

"We can't escape unless we're prepared to die, stupid!" Killua yelled at Gon ignoring Nobu but the volume was a little quieter then last time, "You have no idea what I was thinking… who's the selfish one?!"

"Yes, I've no idea… Because I'm stupid!" Gon yelled back quieter as well.

"Don't agree to that!" Phoenix said with a deadpan.

Nobu laughed again, "You kids are hilarious! Hey, I'm not going to hurt you or anything. Just behave yourselves. I know your serious. Don't throw your lives away" He reassured them, taking Phoenix by surprise for a second before she let a small smile creep onto her face, he wasn't too bad. "Wait until the boss gets back. If he won't give his approval, you can leave. But if you try to escape, I'll kill you. Don't make me draw my sword. If I pull it out, you'll die…"

Gon suddenly let out a triumphed exclaim turning to his two friends, "Side-stepping!" He said looking mostly at Phoenix who smirked already know his plan, it was the same as her own from before.

Gon and Phoenix looked at Killua intently trying to tell him the plan without using words. It took him a second before he realised what they were talking about. Once he had a look of realisation, they knew that he knew the plan.

"Do you remember now?" Gon asked happily.

"Yeah, I sure do!" Killua said excited.

"See? How could we forget something so simple?" Gon asked making Phoenix look at him, making him smile sheepishly but not comment. Nobu was surprised when the three turned to look at him prepared for a fight, "Now that we've figured that out…"

Together the three activated they nen ready for the plan.

Nobu stood up ready to fight as well, thinking that was what the three were planning to do, "Are you serious? You're going to die. I'm not skill or merciful enough to control my strength"

Together the three pushed off of the floor leaving a small dent and rushed toward Nobu. Phoenix waiting until the last second, just before the three were in the mans ranged before jumping straight up into the air and punched a hole into the ceiling.

Once she had gotten into the room on the level above were they originally were she didn't waste any time to race to the door and out to the run down hallway.

Running down the hallway she waiting till there was a window without any glass and jumped through it.

Twisting her body around in the air she crouched like a cat mid-air as the ground got closer and closer. Landing with a loud thud she paused as she heard Killua and Gon calling out to each other. She smiled softly to herself as they both jumped out of the building and landed next to her before the three took off back to the city where they would go back to the hotel and tell Leorio everything that happened that night.

"Stupid" Killua said mocking Nobu who probably hadn't realized that the three friends had escaped him.

"Man, I wanted to beat him up" Gon commented.

"He would have killed you Gon" Phoenix said him gently, "If any of us had fought him then we all would have died"

"It's impossible" Killua agreed with the girl, "Even with Phoenix's flames we still would have lost"

"One hundred percent guaranteed?" Gon asked as they came across a tall wire fence that they all jumped over with ease.

"We don't have a chance only knowing the basics of nen. Phoenix may know more about nen then us but she's still a beginner" Killua explained when the three stopped on the other side of the fence.

Gon suddenly smiled widely at his two friends making them look at him confused. "What is it?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"You finally sound like yourself again" Gon said to Killua, "It's my job to say crazy stuff. Your job is to stay cool and stop me"

"What's my job?" Phoenix asked.

Gon turned to the girl, "Your job is to make sure that we don't get ourselves killed or do anything too dangerous. So I'm counting on you two" He said patting Killua on the back and grinning at Phoenix before starting to run again.

"You're so selfish" Killua commented following his best friend.

Phoenix watched the two go before sighing, "I wouldn't need to keep you two out of danger if you two didn't put yourselves in danger all the time!" She muttered to herself before following them herself.

"Well? What do we do next?" Gon asked once Phoenix had caught up to them and was between the two.

"That depends on what you want to do" Killua said simply.

"I want to defeat those guys" Gon declared.

"It works with our original plans, but we now know that you two need to learn more nen and I need improve mine" Phoenix explained to the two.

"Nen has the potential to give us the power we'd need to stand a chance" Killua stated. "And the fastest way to learn more would be to ask Kurapika or have Phoenix teach us but she also needs to train"

"Huh? Why?" Gon asked as Phoenix looked at the white haired boy curious about why they would need to talk to Kurapika about nen.

"Because Kurapika is the chain user who defeated one of them" Killua explained making Phoenix jolt slightly forgetting about that in the heat of the moment. "You didn't realise?" He asked Gon who looked who surprised, knowing that Phoenix had worked it out.

"Is that really true?" Gon asked looking at Phoenix for confirmation.

"I'm pretty sure that he's the chain user. Who else do we know that has a massive grudge against the troupe and wants to get revenge against them?" Phoenix said pointing out the obvious.

"If it's true, we have a chance. Because we learned nen around the same time Kurapika did. We need to learn the techniques appropriate to our abilities. And most importantly, we need strength to fight the troupe" Killua said.

"And Kurapika is the key to finding those answer?" Gon asked.

"Yeah. I can give you as much information and help as much as I can too" Phoenix offered getting grateful smiled from her two friends.

 **A/N: I know I haven't uploaded in forever but as you might know I have no internet at home so right now I'm at school uploading this! I know this is rather short but it's better than nothing right?**

 **Answer from last chapter: I have a name for the baby dragon but you'll have to wait and see before you know its name.**

 **Question of the chapter: Out of all of Gon's attacks which is your favourite?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction, I love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review, I would really appreciate it.**


	27. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Gon, Killua and Phoenix were currently on the train so they could get back to their hotel and tell Leorio what happened to them and to contact Kurapika. Phoenix was staring at the floor thinking about what happened at the Troupe's hideout.

She knew that if Nobu hadn't spoken up then Feitan would have tried to hurt her for real, maybe even kill her. She understood that his first priority was the spiders but she wasn't sure how far he'd go if it involved killing her. She didn't want to find out honestly.

The young girl was broken from her thoughts as the train suddenly came to jerking halt. Looking up she looked at her friends confused about what was going on.

Before any of them could say anything, an announcement came through the speakers throughout the train, "We will be making an emergency stop. Please watch your step" Phoenix ignored the rest of the announcement.

"Did something happen?" Gon asked his two friends.

"Beats me" Killua said curious about what was happened.

"Something might have happened in the streets" Phoenix suggested.

Phoenix tuned back into what the speakers were saying, "Currently, all trains have been stopped. For your safely, please wait patiently"

The young girl sighed in boredom, before looking at Gon who brought his beetle phone out of his pocket and checked it, "I'm not getting any reception down here" He said.

"It's because we're underground" Phoenix explained to him.

Gon nodded his agreement, "We don't know when the trains will start moving again"

"That settles it… We'll have to run" Killua said simply.

With that the three quickly opened the emergency hatch on the roof of the train and ran along the roof to the front of the train where they jumped off and started to run along the tracks. The three didn't stop running until they got to the next stop and made their way above ground to the streets.

Phoenix immediately took notice of the explosions, gun fire and screams in the distance and knew that was the reasons that the trains had all stopped.

"Call Kurapika, Gon" Phoenix told Gon worried for her oldest friend. She didn't know what she would do if she found out that he was in the middle of what was going on.

Gon nodded and called the blonde, it didn't take too long until he answered for once. "Oh, Kurapika" Gon greeted surprised when he heard the older teens voice for the first time in a while. Phoenix could only hear Gon's side of the conversation which kind of annoy her, "Whew, we finally got a hold of you"

"Is this Gon?!" Phoenix heard Kurapika exclaim making Phoenix blink at his loudness.

"Yep, can you talk right now?" Gon paused as he waiting for Kurapika to answer him, "Wait! Can you give me one minute? I have something to tell you. Killua, Phoenix and I ran into the troupe. Actually, they caught us"

"What were you guys thinking?! Do you realize how dangerous they are?" The blonde basically shouted into the phone loud enough for both Killua and Phoenix to hear him.

"Let me talk" Killua said as he took the phone off of Gon, "I thought I knew, but after we met them, it became painfully clear. They're strong. Right now, we have no chance against them, even with Phoenix's strength. That's why we need your assistance" Killua explained making sure to slip Phoenix's name in there to making help convince Kurapika.

"We want to help" Gon said leaning toward the phone.

Phoenix didn't say anything but just let the boys handle it. As much as she really wanted to talk to Kurapika she knew that he would go into over protective mood if he heard her voice.

"Don't you want to know where their base is?" Killua asked after a pause that was obviously when the blonde was speaking. Another pause, "Do you know all of their powers?" At this paused Killua started to looked rather angry at Kurapika, "You're the chain user who killed one of their members, right? They're looking everywhere for you. If you won't treat us as friends or equals, we'll do whatever we must to help!" Killua explained annoyed before thrusting the phone back at Gon much to Phoenix's amusement.

"Kurapika… One of their members cried in front of us" Gon explained seriously as Phoenix put her hand on Killua's arm trying to calm him down. She was happy when she felt him relax slightly at her touch and smiled sweetly at him making the boy blush despite the situation. "He said that he couldn't forgive whoever killed his friend. I got really mad after seeing that. I couldn't let that go. We want to stop them! Please, Kurapika…" There was a pause before Gon took the phone away from his ear and put it back into his pocket.

Gon explained to his two friends what Kurapika said as they made their way to the hotel. Phoenix was only listening with one ear, she was more focused on her egg that she left with Leorio for safe keeping. She hoped that it was alright and warm enough in her scarf at the moment.

When the three finally got back to their room at the hotel all they could do was watch with either confounded or deadpan looks as they watch Leorio and Zepile drinking and lazing around having a great time together.

"Seriously?" Killua mumbled to his two friends, "They were drinking while we were captured?" He said loud enough for the two men to hear him.

The two looked rather happy that they had arrived but Phoenix seriously doubted that it was because they were safe.

"Oh, you're back? Leorio asked drunk, "Come drink with us!"

"Are you an idiot? We're underage! And aren't you underage too?" Killua asked trying to prove a point.

' _But we're hunters now, does that still class as being underage?'_ Phoenix thought to herself confused.

' _ **You have a point there kiddo. If your old enough to be a hunter then you should be able to drink'**_ Tarkar answered her making Phoenix hum happily to herself.

"What's your point?" Leorio asked oblivious, "In my country, you can drink once you're sixteen"

"I see" Was all Killua said before dropping the matter.

Phoenix looked around trying to find her egg that was wrapped in her scarf but couldn't find it anywhere and felt the panic start to build up in her chest, "Leorio, where's my egg?" She demeaned.

Leorio looked at her confused for a moment before realizing what she was talking about, "I put it on your bed" He told her before all the males watched the only girl run to her room.

Spotting the egg on her bed Phoenix sighed in relief before going over to her bed and sitting on the edge. Leaning over she pulled her boots off her feet before scooting backwards until her back hit the wall. Once she was comfortable she reached over and gently picked the egg and her scarf up.

Being a gentle as she possible could Phoenix checked her egg for any damages that might be on it and smiled softly to herself when she didn't find anything.

Placing the egg into her lap she stroked it gently with her index finger as she leaned against the wall.

"Hey, little one" She whispered to the egg, making sure that her voice was quiet because she left the door open for light so she wouldn't have to put on the rooms light. She liked sitting in the dark anyway. "I can't wait to meet you"

' _ **There is a way to speed up the waiting process'**_ Tarkar informer her.

Closing her eyes Phoenix focused on her Psyche and after a moment she opened them to see that she was in her mindscape. It was a beautiful place, it looked like a mountain with fire pits scattered around. The sky was dark and covered in stars. But the most beautiful of the whole place was the large dragon that was laying down smiling at her.

He was very large, as least ten times larger than an elephant with a long, thick neck. His scales where a brownish red colour and he had spikes that adored his spine and around his head. Tarkar's wings where folding against his body as his head rested on his clawed paws.

Walking over Phoenix placed a hand onto his soft snout and gave him a nice rub before sitting down so she could be more comfortable and still be able to pat him. She giggled quietly to herself when she heard what sounded like purring coming from the dragon's throat.

"Hello, little one"Tarkar greeted in his deep voice.

"Hello, Tarkar" Phoenix replied. There was a moment of silence as Phoenix just ran her hand across Tarkar's scales, "You said there was a way to speed up the process?" She asked finally.

"Yes, indeed I did" Tarkar confirmed, "You need to use your flames to warm the egg. At the moment the egg is in a state of petrification and only a dragon's fire can bring them back to their normal state"

Phoenix furrow her eyebrows confused, "But, I'm not a dragon" Phoenix remarked.

Tarkar hummed his agreement, "You're right, you are not a dragon but you have the soul of a dragon remember" He said with a gleam in his golden eyes.

Phoenix took a moment to think before nodding her head and standing up. "You're right. I'm going to go and try right now! I want the egg to hatch as soon as possible" She said excitedly before fading from her mindscape and opening her eyes to see that she was still sitting on her bed.

Grinning down at the egg Phoenix was about to use her nen when Killua walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Neither of them said anything for a moment before Killua spoke up, not turning around "The spider is dead"

Phoenix gasped is shock. She couldn't even think at the moment, "Are you sure?" She whispered.

Killua turned to look at her and nodded at her with a serious expression. He frowned when Phoenix's eyes started to water a little and quickly made his way over to her.

Once he was seated next to her he grabbed her by the shoulder and brought her into a tight hug. He knew that she lost a friend, an evil one but a friend all the same.

Phoenix wept silently into Killua's chest. He was gone, Feitan was dead! He was meant to be so strong! How could he have been killed! It just didn't make any sense!

Killua didn't say anything as he felt his shirt starting to become damp, he just ran his fingers through her short hair trying to calm the girl down.

Once Phoenix stopped crying and just gave a few sniffs here and there Killua spoke up, "I'm sorry you lost a friend Phoenix" He said quietly. And he meant it, Phoenix was so kind to everyone, she didn't deserve this pain.

Phoenix sighed moving her head so she was laying on his chest and not burying her face into it, "It's okay. It's probably for the best. I mean now Kurapika won't be able to kill him" She whispered hoarsely.

Killua hummed his agreement still running his fingers through her hair. "I never noticed until now but your hairs really soft" He admitted without realising what he said but when he did he went as stiff as a board and stopped moving.

Phoenix giggled slightly feeling the embarrassment rolling off of Killua in thick waves, "Thank you Killua" She said as she leaned away from him and looked into his sapphire eyes.

Killua didn't know what to say, she was really close to his face right now. Even in the low lighting Killua could see where the yellow in her eyes blended with the green, they were really beautiful.

Phoenix was taking the moment to observe Killua's eyes herself. They were as blue as she had thought they were but she could see little flecks on a slightly darker shade mixed in with the sapphire.

Neither of them could tell you who leant in first but they could tell you that the moment their lips touched, it felt like everything just stopped in the world. That the only thing that matter was them and it would only be them. It was perfect, the way their lips just moulded together, it was like they were made for eachother.

The kiss lasted a few seconds before Phoenix pulled back to take a breath of air smiling to herself. Looking up at Killua again she saw he too was smiling, "That was nice" She whispered starting to blush as she thought about what just happened.

Seeing the girl who he admittedly had feelings for start to blush make Killua blush himself, "Y-yeah, it was" He stuttered making Phoenix giggle again. Looking at Phoenix seriously Killua asked the question that he subconsciously wanted to know the answer to for a while now, "Phoenix… Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked hesitating a bit.

Phoenix looked at him slightly shocked before grinning at him and nodding her head happily, "Yes"

The two grinned at each other before Phoenix threw her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug.

Killua chuckled to himself, asking Phoenix to be his was one of the most terrifying things he had ever done and the next most terrifying thing is going to be telling Kurapika.

 **A/N: Phoenix and Killua are finally together! I know that the kiss scene wasn't that good but I don't really write romance so please go easy on me! We finally meet Tarkar face to face too, which is exciting but I know that you all will focus on the Killua x Phoenix moments. As you can see I finally have internet back, yay me, so I can start posting again, finally. Hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Answer from last chapter: I love his scissors attack to be honest with you, I don't know why but I just do**

 **Question of the chapter: What should Killua's and Phoenix ship name be?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction, I love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review, I would really appreciate it.**


	28. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

Killua, Gon and Phoenix were at the park in the middle of the city enjoying the day waiting for Kurapika to turn up. He had called them late last night saying that he wanted to see them and to meet him at central park.

The two boys were currently having a food eating competition between the two. They had asked if Phoenix wanted to join in but she politely declined saying that she wanted to catch up on some reading, since she hasn't really had the time to just relax with a book since the hunter's exam.

Phoenix was leaning against Killua's back as she read while the sapphire eyed boy tried his best to not move forward too much so the girl could be as comfortable as possible, he was able to do this and put up a good fight against Gon.

Looking up when she heard someone walking over to them, she grinned wildly when she could see it was the blonde they were waiting for.

Before Phoenix could call out Gon beat her to it, "Kurapika" He called out to him with his mouth full which resulted in all the food that was in his mouth to go flying into Killua's face much to his disgust.

Phoenix stood up along with Gon as the two ran over to Kurapika. Phoenix was quick to throw her arms around his waist and hug him as tightly as she could. She had really missed her closest friend all these months and it felt good to see him again.

Kurapika smiled softly to himself and she hugged to girl who he thought of as a little sister as close and as tight as he possible could. He knew that he had missed her but he never realised just how much until this very moment.

"I missed you Kura" Phoenix mumbled into his chest but the blonde still heard and put his hand on her short hair and started to stroke her head calmingly.

"I missed you too Nix" He muttered back.

Phoenix grinned as she let go of her friend and stepped back, "This is great" Gon said once the twos moment was over, Kurapika looked at him a little confused, "The spiders are dead, so you can focus on your main goal. You have to find the eyes of your people"

"Gon…" Kurapika said softly, he was speechless. He didn't think that Gon would mature so much in the half a year the two last saw each other.

"Yep. If there's anything we can do to help-"Gon started but was interrupted by a pie that was shoved into his face by Killua.

Phoenix looked shocked at first but started to laugh loudly as she watched Gon chase of him and try to catch her boyfriend. _'Boyfriend, it feels weird to call him my boyfriend but I like it'_ The young girl thought to herself with a light blush on her cheeks.

She didn't realise Kurapika was watching as she smiled sweetly to herself as she watched the boys run around and smiled happily to himself, he was glad that Phoenix had found people other then him that she could count on and be happy with.

The blonde looked up again just in time to see Killua jump above Gon and shove another pie into his face and this time he joined Phoenix in laughing at the two.

After Kurapika called Leorio the four went back to the hotel that they were staying at. It wasn't long before they met up with Leorio in the lobby. Phoenix was holding her egg that she had went to collect once they had gotten back to the hotel. She would have taken the egg with her but she was scared that she might hurt it if she took it with her. She knew that the two boys could get rough and she didn't want to risk the egg breaking.

"It's been a while since we were all together last!" Gon exclaimed as the five all smiled at each other.

Phoenix looked over at Killua who was eating a lemon flavoured lollypop that looked like a bunny. She couldn't help but want a taste of it. She loved sweet things, she also loved sour things too, so a lemon flavoured lollypop was a great combo to her.

"Yeah" Leorio agreed.

The five made their way over to the elevators so they could go up to there room, even though Phoenix was just up there.

As they were walking Phoenix kept side glance the bunny lollypop that Killua had. He noticed her glances after the second and smirked at her as he put the whole thing into his mouth making his girlfriend pout.

Phoenix then started to glare at him with no heat before turning her head the opposite way in a show of fake anger making Killua chuckle to himself. He nudged her gently in the ribs with his elbow and when she turned back to face him, he shoved the lollypop into her mouth before taking out a new one from his pocket. This flavour was cherry.

"Where's Zepile-san?" Gon asked not noticed the exchange between the couple but the two older males did and were a little shocked at the interaction but decided to let it be for now, they can talk about it later.

"He wanted to validate our check and find more hidden gems to sell. Anyway…" Leorio trailed off as the group of five came to the elevator and turned to Kurapika, "You've got this intensity about you… you seem a little intimidating now" He said honestly but not unkindly.

"Really?" The blonde asked a little surprised, "You don't seem to have changed much"

"And you're more annoying, too!" Leorio said annoyed making Phoenix giggled around her lollypop. Together the five got into the elevator and went up to the floor their room is on, "Oh, I heard that you defeated a member of the Troupe. Having one just learnt nen, how did you manage that?" He asked.

"If your looking for advice on catching the spiders, then stop" Kurapika told him seriously.

"That's not the only reason" Gon explained, "We want to master nen. Because we'll defiantly need nen in the future"

"The you don't want my advice" The blond said grimly as he looked away from Gon, "It won't do you any good"

"Why not?" Phoenix asked suddenly having a bad feeling about what Kurapika was going to say.

"My power can only be used against the Troupe" He said before the elevator arrived at their floor.

The five went to their room where Kurapika explained his nen ability to his friends.

"Restraint and Vow?" Gon asked confused while Phoenix frowned not liking the sound of the phrase at all.

"Yeah. Nen is strongly affected by your mental state" Kurapika explained as he summoned his chains on his right hand, "The stronger your resolve, the more power you receive. However, you incur a big risk at the same time. In return for nen power, I vowed to use it against the spiders alone. I established a rule for myself"

"What's the rule?" Phoenix asked with a grim voice. She didn't show it but she was becoming rather angry at Kurapika, she knew that he had done something life threatening from the look in his eyes and that he didn't even seem to care!

"If I use my chains on one who isn't a spider, I will forfeit my life" Kurapika said seriously.

Phoenix froze for a moment before letting her hair shadow her eyes so the others couldn't see the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Killua was the only one who noticed Phoenix's change of behaviour and put his hand on her clenched hand.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Leorio asked shocked.

"There is a nen blade pointed at my heart. If I break the rule, that blade with pierce my heart, killing me. This is the rule that shows my resolve. Restraint and vow. My power is product of pure hatred. It only works on the spiders. I'm telling you because I trust you. Don't tell anyone else" Kurapika clarified.

"Idiot" Phoenix whispered to herself but everyone heard it in the shocked silence that came after the blonde's explanation, "Idiot!" She yelled as she stood up. "What kind of power is that! Product of pure hatred, what a joke! It's a product of stupidity and recklessness!" She shouted as she looked at Kurapika with angry tears rolling down her cheeks.

Kurapika looked at the girl with shock, he never expected that she would react that way, "Phoenix…" He mumbled.

"All your going to do with that power is get yourself killed! You created a power that is meant to do one thing! What happens if you get into a fight with someone who is ten times stronger then you and they're not in the Troupe? Your chains won't work on then, will they? They won't because they're not a spider! All your going to do is get yourself killed!" She shouted.

No one said anything as Phoenix panted from her shouted. No one moves to stop her as she went to the door to her room.

Just before she went into the room she stopped with one hand on the door handle, "What will I do if you die?" She asked in a whisper before opened then closing the door behind her leaving the living room area in complete silence.

Phoenix put her hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs. She knew that what she said was out of line and she went to far but didn't regret a single thing she said. Kurapika had to know what he had done and what he was going to do. Phoenix moved to so she was sitting on her window sill with her knees pulled up to her chest with her head barrowed in her knees as she quietly cried to herself.

She didn't know how long she sat there crying but when she did stop crying the sun was starting to set. Looking out the window she looked down at the busy street with empty eyes.

A knock on the door broke Phoenix from her thoughts. Looking at the reflection through the window she saw that it was just Killua. She watched his reflection as he closed the door behind him and walked halfway across the room before looking at his girlfriend's bed where her egg lay.

He quickly walked over to the bed and very gently pick the egg up before walking over to Phoenix and placed the egg into her lap where she held onto it softly, he knew that the egg help to keep her calm and it made her happy for some reason, so he thought that if he gave her the egg then mayb she'd cheer up a little. He quickly hopped up onto the window sill himself and sat with one leg propped up and the other dangling against the wall.

Neither said anything for a moment before Phoenix sighed and looked at him, "I'm sorry" She whispered, "I'm sorry that you had to see that"

Killua hummed to himself, "I get where your coming from, if you or Gon had a power like that, I'd get mad at you too" He shrugged as he looked at the girl who had hints of sorrow and concern in her eyes. He knew that she only said those things because she cares about Kurapika and doesn't want him to get himself killed.

"Is… is he mad at me?" She whispered hesitantly as tears started to fill her eyes again before she quickly wiped them away.

Killua shook his head, "No he's not. He was a little upset about it before but I think that it's more of the fact that you two had a fight then him being mad at you" Killua told her honestly.

Phoenix sighed in relief, "I need to apologize to him soon" She said to herself more then Killua as she looked at the egg in her lap and stroked it gently.

"You know, you never told me what kind of egg that is" Killua inquired.

Phoenix looked at the boy she has strong feelings for unsure before sighing, she had to tell him someday, he was her boyfriend after all. "It's a dragon's egg" She said quietly, thinking he was going to laugh at her.

Killua sat in stunned silence, he knew that dragons existed, his grandfather owned one after all. "I didn't think there were that small" He admitted.

Looking at up at him quickly, "You believe me?" She asked surprised.

Killua gave her a weird look, "Why wouldn't I believe you?" He asked.

Phoenix blushed slightly and looked out the window embarrassed, "Because most people don't believe dragons even exist" Phoenix admitted.

Killua chuckled to himself, "I know they exist, my grandpa owns one" He said smirking, he might not like his family but he was somewhat proud of them at the same time.

Phoenix smiled to herself, happy that there was even one dragon still alive today. Before either could say anything else there was another knock on the door. Looking over the two saw that it was Kurapika who was looking at Phoenix with a regretful frown.

Moving into the room slightly he turned to Killua, "Could I talk to Phoenix alone for a moment, Killua?" He asked.

Killua just nodded and stood up and gave Phoenix an encouraging smile before leaving the room and closing the door to give them some privacy.

Neither of the two left in the room said anything for what felt like forever before they both spoke at the same time, "I'm sorry" The two looked at each other shocked before laughing softly.

Kurapika smiled slight and went to sit where Killua once sat, but he sat with his back to the window and both feet on the floor. "I'm sorry Phoenix, I was only thinking about my revenge when I gained the ability to use nen. You right that I'd be at a disadvantage when it came to a fight with someone who isn't a part of the Troupe" He said quietly.

"I'm sorry too Kurapika, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I could have handled it a lot better and waiting until we were alone before I brought it up" She said just as quiet.

Kurapika turned to her to see her eyes glistening with tears again and pulled her into his arms so he could hold her as she cried.

And that's what Phoenix did, she cried into the arms of someone who she thought of as both her brother and her dad. The crying only lasted a few minutes this time before Phoenix pulled herself together and moved so she was sitting like Kurapika was and leaning into his side with his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm glad you're here, Kura" She whispered to him.

"I'm glad I'm here too, Nix" He whispered back. He sat silent for a moment before looking down at his friend, "What's going on with you and Killua?" He asked and raised an eyebrow when a bright blush spread from her neck to her cheeks.

"U-um… W-w-well you s-see, he's my b-b-boyfriend now" She stuttered out.

Kurapika's eyes widened at the claim before clearing his throat, "In that case, we need to have a talk" He said seriously.

Phoenix looked at him nervously, "What kind of talk?"

Kurapika looked away from her with an awkward look on his face, "Well, you see, when a man and women love each other very much" He started.

Phoenix jumped up as soon as it clicked what kind of talk Kurapika was trying to have with her, making sure that she had a good hold on her egg at the same time so she didn't drop it, "I know about sex!" She shouted embarrassed, remembering when Netero-sensei gave her the sex talk. That's something that she never thought would happen, ever!

Kurapika looked at her with so much relief that it looked like he was about to go limp and just flop to the floor, "Oh thank god, that would have been weird!" He said before looked at Phoenix happily, "I'm happy that you found someone who will make you happy Nix" He said honestly.

Phoenix looked at the blonde with a bright grin before giving him another hug. She was happy that she found someone like Killua too. She knew that he was rough around the edges but he was kind and he cared for her. That's all she could ask for.

 **A/N: Some fluff and some drama. I tried to put a little tension between Kurapika and Phoenix in the chapter because I honestly don't agree with what Kurapika did when it came to his nen. I know that I said that he can't use his chains on anyone but the spiders but that not completely true, I'm pretty sure that his index finger chain can be used on anyone but Phoenix doesn't know that, so keep that in mind. He also knows about Phoenix and Killua now!**

 **My cat has been annoying me the whole time I wrote this chapter, but I love her. I don't know why I told you that…**

 **Answer from last chapter: So far my favourite is Kilnix but I'm still open to suggestions.**

 **Question of the chapter: Should Phoenix and Killua combine an attack, like with Phoenix's flames and Killua's lightening?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction, I love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review, I would really appreciate it.**


	29. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

"No" Killua said shooting Gon's idea down instantly.

"Huh? Why not? You were the one who wanted to capture the Phantom Troupe" Gon argued his plan to go after the spiders.

Phoenix stood in between the boys but a bit to the side so she wasn't in the middle of the conversation. She was a lot calmer now that she made up with Kurapika and that he now knows that Killua and herself are together.

"It'd be pointless now" Killua replied.

"But why?" Gon asked not understanding the point.

"It would be a too big of risk, Gon. With the reward money being withdrawn then the point of going after them becomes pointless for us" Phoenix explained to the confused boy.

"Yeah but capturing the Phantom Troupe would be worth it!" Gon argues trying to get his two friends to see his point of view.

Killua gained an annoyed look on his face as he leaned closer to Gon with his finger in his face. Phoenix stepped forward slightly just in case things got a little out of hand. "You're getting your priories mixed up. Have you forgotten why we're here?" The silver haired boy said.

"Greed Island" Gon answered with a slightly sheepish look on his face, it was clear that he had actually forgotten.

"Exactly!" Killua confirmed.

"The Southern Piece auction starts in two days" Phoenix told the boys being the only one in their trio to have read about all the times and dates that the different auction are going to happen on.

Killua nodded his agreement with his girlfriend's statement, "We need to build up out war chest!"

"Actually, I have a great plan to get the game" Gon explained.

"What's your plan?" Both Killua and Phoenix asked at the same time making them blush slightly.

"It's a secret right now!" Gon said happily.

Phoenix didn't even bother trying to stop the ex-assassin as he pulled their black-haired friend into a tight head lock. "Stop being coy and spit it out…" Killua shouted as Gon tapped his arm continuously trying to get Killua to let him go.

"Your strangling me! I'm going to die" Gon managed to choke out making Phoenix giggled to herself.

Once Killua let the boy go and he got his breath back he tried to explain his reasons to his friends, "Anyway, I'll work something out for the game. So, for now, let's stick to the troupe"

"Do you really have a plan" Killua asked sceptically.

Phoenix looked at Gon curious about his answer, "Yep, but it's not guaranteed to work" He admitted.

"How likely is it to work?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"Huh?" Gon asked confused.

"What percentage do you think your plan has of working?" Killua explained for the girl.

Gon took a moment to think before answering a little unsurely, "Seventy percent"

"Seventy?" Killua asked shocked at the high number while Phoenix looked at Gon surprised that he even came up with a plan with that high of a success rate.

"M-maybe more like sixty" Gon said second guessing himself.

It was silent for a moment as Killua took in the new information before looking at Gon seriously, "Okay, have it your way. I'll let you handle the game. But we can't deal with the troupe alone. We only move if Kurapika helps us"

"I agree" Phoenix said, "Kurapika is the one with the most experience when it comes the spiders, he did take one down after all"

"Okay" Gon said agreeing with his two friends.

Once the three were on the same page they went to go and meet Leorio and Kurapika down in a vacant sitting area on the floor they were staying on.

"Kurapika, let us help" Gon said as the three stopped in front of the two older males. "We're willing to do anything"

Phoenix could basically read what Killua was thinking as she looked at him through the corner of her eye. He was trying to tell Kurapika to say no to them.

"The reward was resinated" Kurapika said seriously.

"I know. I want to stop the Phantom Troupe. That hasn't changed" Gon said just as serious.

Phoenix tried her hardest not to let her face twitch as she continued to watch Killua's face.

Kurapika turned so his whole body was facing the three, "You'd be risking your lives"

' _That's what Gon wants to hear'_ Phoenix thought to herself with a deadpan.

' _ **Your friend is a little… strange'**_ Tarkar said the toxic green-eyed girl making her agree mentally.

"Okay, let's put together a plan" Kurapika said quietly.

The five quickly moved to a table so they could think up a plan to capture the Phantom Troupe. Phoenix was sitting close to Killua so their arms and legs were brushing against the other.

"First we'll need someone to watch their base, and to provide updates" Kurapika started.

Killua lifted his hand up gaining everyone's attention, "I can do that" He said confidently.

Kurapika nodded his agreement knowing that the silverette was the best suited for the job. "The target is the women named Pakunoda. You can ignore everyone else"

"Okay" Killua agreed but mentally thought that he was going to watch Feitan too, knowing what he meant to Phoenix.

"Be very careful" Kurapika warned.

"Don't worry, I won't push my luck" Killua promised.

"I'll need a driver to accompany me" The blonde stated before turning to Leorio, "Leorio, can you handle that?" He asked the older teen.

"Huh?" Leorio asked surprised, "Y-yeah…" He said hesitantly.

"It'll be fine" Killua reassured mockingly, "You'll be safe if you're with Kurapika"

"Hey Killua…" Leorio said annoyed, "Don't make it sound like I was scared or something!"

Phoenix quickly jumped into the conversation before Killua could continue to mock the older teen, "Don't worry Leorio, you'll do great" Phoenix said with a kind smile making Leorio look at the girl with a grin.

"Kurapika, what about me?" Gon asked curiously getting back on track.

"I need you to act as a decoy, to throw the enemy off" Kurapika explained.

"Got it" Gon said taking the job very seriously.

"Hold on! Isn't that a dangerous role?" Killua asked worried, "He'll have to face the Troupe members again!"

"That depends on our strategy" Kurapika answered simply.

"What strategy are we using?" Phoenix asked seriously not wanting any of her friends to get hurt.

"A very simple one. While the enemy is occupied with Gon, I'll capture Pakunoda and escape by car" Kurapika explained.

"That sounds a little shaky" Killua mumbled.

"Wait" Phoenix suddenly said, "What about me? What am I doing?" She asked curiously.

"You Phoenix are going to be with me and Leorio and you're going to be my backup. You are going to help me keep Pakunoda subdued. From what I understand, you have a Hatsu, what is it?" The blonde asked.

Phoenix smirked a little to herself putting her hand in the middle of the table with the palm facing the ceiling. Leorio and Kurapika looked at her a little confused but curiously. Suddenly a bright blue flame erupted around her hand leaving her skin completely unharmed. Kurapika leaned back in shock while Leorio jumped with a loud yelp.

Phoenix giggled to herself at their reactions before letting her flames be absorbed back into in her skin leaving no marks at all. "It's fire" She said proudly.

Kurapika still slightly recovered nodded, he never would have thought that Phoenix would ever chose fire as her Hatsu but now that he thought about it, it suited her. He was so proud of far she had come to be able to do what she had just done.

"Okay Phoenix, you will be in the car with Leorio and I and once we have capture Pakunoda you will be our security basically, you will be the one to make sure that she doesn't do anything" Kurapika explained making Phoenix nod in understand.

"There are too many uncertainties for me to devise a concrete plan" Kurapika admitted to everyone getting back to what Killua said about the plan being shaky. "I'll let Gon decide his strategy. But I'll need you to draw their attention for a least half a second… a full second if possible"

"One second, huh?" Gon repeated.

"Yeah" Kurapika nodded as Gon thought back to when Killua, Phoenix and himself were captured by the Phantom Troupe and how quick they were. "Gon. You are the key. Can you handle it?" Kurapika asked trying to get Gon to understand how much this plan relies on him.

"I'm not sure" Gon admitted honestly, "I'll need to think about it"

Kurapika looked over at the clock that was hanging on the wall on the opposite side of the room, "We have six hours. If the auction proceeds as scheduled, the spiders will make their move before then"

Nobody said anything for a moment. Phoenix took a moment to think about the plan but it was just as Kurapika had said, there were so many uncertainties about this plan and it was making Phoenix anxious to just get it over with so they could focus on Greed Island.

"Hey," Killua said suddenly, "why are you accepting our help now?" He asked.

"Because the risk I'm taking has increased. I have to eliminate Pakunoda immediately. No matter the cost" He stated making Killua and Leorio widen their eyes at how much stronger Kurapika's resolve about the spiders is.

"Kurapika," Gon said pointing at his chest, "Put a nen blade in me!"

Phoenix wiped her head toward Gon so fast that her hair swished into her eyes for a moment before falling back to its normal style. _'Is he an idiot?"_ Phoenix thought to herself stunned, _'If he does that then he's putting his life on the line for something that isn't even his main goal'_

' _ **You right little one, as brave it is, it is also a very stupid move. He might be doing this for his friend but he isn't thinking about the consequences'**_ Said to Phoenix in his deep voice making Phoenix nod her head mentally.

"A nen blade?" Killua asked disbelieving.

"Gon, weren't you listening?" Leorio asked trying to reason with the young boy, "Kurapika will die with he attacks anyone who isn't a Troupe member!"

"Keep your voice down!" Kurapika hushed Leorio.

"Then why is there a nen blade in Kurapika's chest?" Gon asked innocently surprising everyone, "Kurapika isn't a member of the Troupe"

The group looked at Kurapika waiting for him to answer, "What I'm about to tell you will increase my risk further" Was all the blonde said.

There was a pause before Leorio stood up from his seat. "Okay" He said before moving to leave the room before pausing and looking down at Killua and Phoenix, "Hey, Killua, Phoenix" Phoenix didn't even look at anyone before standing up and walking out of the room with Leorio and Killua following after her.

Honestly Phoenix didn't want to know anything else about Kurapika's nen abilities because it would only piss her off more than she was earlier.

Once the three were out of the door Phoenix leaned against the wall waiting for Kurapika and Gon to finish talking. Killua and Leorio on the other hand were close to the door listening in on what the two were talking.

Phoenix shook her head at the two before pushing off the wall, "I'll be back, I'm going to go get something from my room" She told the two but was only waved away by Leorio absentmindedly and Killua looked at her before nodding and turned back to the room.

The young girl rolled her eyes at them before going back to the room they were staying in. Once she was inside the room she went straight to her room. Turning on the light she quickly went over to her bed where her egg was laying in her scarf still. She absently noted that Kurapika didn't say anything about where her scarf was before remembering that he came into her room earlier and probably noticed that she was using her scarf as an incubator of sorts.

Shrugging that thought away she gently scooped her egg into her arms and sitting on the edge of her bed. Looking down at her egg she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. She couldn't wait for the baby dragon to hatch.

Taking a deep breath Phoenix let her flames coat her hands so that the azure flames could completely envelope the egg. Tarkar told her earlier that she need to use her dragon's fire to bring the egg back to life. She didn't understand what Tarkar meant when he told her the egg was in a state of petrification but she guessed that it meant that the egg was frozen or something.

After a few moments Phoenix let her flames absorb back into her skin again and looked down at her egg and was surprised when the colour was different. It wasn't a dark green anymore but a dark red. Phoenix just stared at the egg in shock before shaking her head and standing up. Quickly wrapping her scarf around her egg, she quickly left the hotel room and went back to where her friends were to see Killua and Leorio quickly sneaking behind Kurapika so she decided to do the same.

"I accept your resolve" Phoenix heard Kurapika say to Gon but she didn't understand what he was talking about since she wasn't around for the explanation about the blondes nen abilities.

It was at that moment that Killua and Leorio stood up from behind Kurapika while Phoenix just walked around so she was sitting next to the blonde, placing her egg on the table in front of her.

"Can you make four of those blades?" Killua asked having heard the whole conversation.

"You can rescind the rule once our mission is over, right?" Leorio asked next.

Phoenix just smiled sweetly at Kurapika when he looked at her next. She didn't say anything because she wanted Kurapika to think that she understood what was going on.

"Phoenix! Killua! Leorio!" Gon exclaimed in shock, he wasn't expecting his friends to just pop up like that.

"We had a little talk. And since we're working together…" Leorio started.

"We should share the same fate" Killua finished.

"I just don't want any of my friends to do this alone" Phoenix put in.

"What do you say?" The two boys asked Kurapika.

"The answer to both questions is yes" Kurapika state, "But you four are wholly mistaken. I never had any intention of using my blade on you guys" the blonde said confusing his friends.

"The why endanger yourself by telling us your secret?" Gon asked curiously.

"Gon, I wanted…" The blonde started but paused to get his thoughts together, "No, I wanted to thank all of you for your resolve. Even if one of you ends up revealing my secret, I will have no regrets. I have good friends…"

Phoenix watched amused as Killua looked away with a slight blush.

"That's not fair Kurapika…" Gon said upset, "You're actually putting more pressure on us this way"

"That was my goal" Kurapika admitted happily making Phoenix sigh to herself at being slightly manipulated by her oldest friend.

"Oh, I get it now" Gon said proudly before laughing to himself.

Phoenix giggled to herself when Killua send Kurapika a look that was a mixture between a deadpan and annoyance at the situation. She watched as Kurapika turned to Killua who quickly changed his facial expression and looked away again.

"Well, I'll head out, then" He stated before making his way over to Phoenix and gave her a kiss on the forehead before moving toward the door so he could go and begin his role of the plan, "Can't waste any time"

"Be careful, Killua" Gon said waving his friend off.

"Yeah, I got this" Killua said confidently looking over at his shoulder at his friends before locking eyes with Phoenix was giving him a sweet, loving smile making him blush slightly, much to everyone's amusement.

Once Killua had left the room the three boys left looked over at Phoenix was still looking at the door that Killua had just walked through, "So you and Killua?" Leorio asked teasingly as he ruffled the young girl's hair making her whine.

The three boys laughed at the young girl. Gon looked down at the table and saw her egg. Gon turned his head to the side slightly in confusion, "Hey, Phoenix why is your egg a different colour?" He asked curiously.

Phoenix looked at Gon before down at her egg, "Um… I'm not too sure, I used my flames on it early before because…" Here she paused not sure if she should tell them about Tarkar, she wanted to tell Killua first before she told her friends, "Because I read somewhere that fire can help to speed up the time it'll take to hatch the kind of egg this egg is" She explained.

"What kind of egg is it?" Kurapika asked curiously, he had been meaning to ask about the egg since he first saw it in her room after their fight.

Phoenix hesitated for a moment before sighing, "It's a dragon's egg" She said honestly.

There was a loud silence before Leorio stuttered out a reply, "A d-d-dragons egg?" He asked nervous, he didn't believe that they were real but he knew that Phoenix didn't lie about anything, she hated to lie and that it the only reasons that he believed her.

Kurapika looked at the toxic-green eyed girl in shock before looking at the egg that was in front of her on the table. He took notice of the design on the dark red egg, he notes that the egg looked as though it was coated in scales, it's was rather interesting.

Gon on the hand was completely excited. He was amazed that Phoenix had even found a dragon's egg but remember that she got it in the bidding market when they were looking for things to buy so they could sell them for money for Greed Island. He didn't think it that dragons were real but if Phoenix said that they were then they were, she would never lie to them unless she had to, to protect them.

"That is so cool!" Gon exclaimed excited, "When will it hatch?" He asked.

Phoenix smiled to herself as she watcher her egg, "I'm not sure when it'll hatch but I know that it'll be soon" She said honestly.

"If it's going to hatch soon then you need to keep it with you so that you're the first person that the baby dragon sees so it can imprint on you" Kurapika explained thinking about how most animals imprint of the first thing they see.

Phoenix nodded her head as she stroked her egg happily. She couldn't wait to see the little reptile in the egg.

 **A/N: And that this chapter done and dusted. So Phoenix is finally telling the others about her egg, I wonder how long till the others find out about Tarkar?**

 **I have decided that the ship name for Killua and Phoenix is now KillNix because it's pretty.**

 **Answer from last chapter: Killua and Phoenix with have a combo but I will not tell anyone when they will use it or what it'll be**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your least favourite character from HxH?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction, I love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review, I would really appreciate it.**


	30. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Phoenix**

 **Hey guys, please read the authors note, I have something very important to talk to you all about, thank you and enjoy.**

Sitting the backseat in the car that Leorio had rented, Phoenix stared out the window with a blank face. Next to her. Gon was staring out the front windscreen with a look of determination.

Phoenix was gently running her flame covered finger tips over her egg, hoping that it would make the egg hatch sooner. It seemed to be working because an hour ago, she noticed a very faint presence of something alive in her egg, and has only been growing stronger since.

The young girl smiled to herself as she focused her nen on her egg, and felt how her baby dragon was following where ever she put her flames.

"This is most likely a conjurer's work" Kurapika said from the front seat, as he was on the phone with Killua, thankfully, that he put it on speaker so everyone could hear what the ex-assassin was saying.

Kurapika was sitting with his disguise. which included all black semi-formal clothing, sunglasses, a hat and a long silver wig, which actually looked good on him, but Phoenix preferred his blonde locks over the silver wig, any day.

"Yeah that's gotta be it" Killua's voice said through the phone, making Phoenix's shoulders relax slightly at his voice. "The buildings weren't here yesterday. This has to be nen"

"Man, these guys are really crazy… They have someone who can conjure entire buildings!" Leorio exclaimed, destressed.

"It's safe to assume that they're rigged somehow" Kurapika guessed.

"Yeah," Killua agreed, "That tells us they're still using this place as their base. The problem is that these buildings create too many blind spots. I can only watch twenty percent of the area at a time"

"Don't move around too much Killua" Phoenix interrupting her finger's movement so she was leaning in between the two front seats with Gon, "In fact don't go anywhere near the buildings. We don't know what kind of conjurer were dealing with, but I know that, with that level of nen, they might have hidden some with _In_ so you might run into one without knowing it and alert them that you are there"

"I'd like to avoid that" Killua muttered taking Phoenix's warning seriously, "I mean, I have no idea what I'd do if I heard their voices behind me… My heart is pounding"

"Voices?" Kurapika asked himself quietly although everyone heard him clearly. "Never mind. I read you. For now, return to your original position. I'll call you back in five minutes" He said before hanging up the phone and calling someone else, "Hello? Melody? How's it going on your side?" The conversation continued, before Kurapika asked this Melody person to meet up with Killua, to give him a hand after telling them about what they were hoping to do.

"Was that wise? Telling someone else about what we were doing?" Phoenix asked cautiously not knowing how he'd take to her questioning the way he was handling things.

"Yes, Melody won't tell anyone and she's a good friend who is working as a bodyguard, same as me. Her nen ability will help us greatly" Kurapika assured his friends.

Phoenix didn't say anything, just nodded before leaning back in her seat and looking out the window, watching all the cars that speed past. She was wondering what this Melody was like, because if Kurapika trusted her then she must be a good person. While she didn't trust her, she did trust Kurapika so that was good enough for now.

Phoenix looked toward the front of the car when she felt the car turn and come to a stop. Looking out toward Gon's side of the car she saw that they were parked in front of a small café.

Leorio turned towards the two young teens in the back seat, "We're just getting something small the eat and come hot drinks, do you two want anything?" He asked.

Gon said no but Phoenix asked for a hot chocolate with extra sugar. Kurapika shook his head as he heard this, knowing that the toxic-green eyed girl had a big sweet tooth.

Leorio came back with their orders quickly, he handed Kurapika his tea before turning and giving Phoenix her extra sweet hot chocolate, before turning to enjoy the sandwich he got himself.

Phoenix gave a quick thank you before taking a sip and looking out the window again when Gon's phone rang. Turning her head quickly she watched as Gon hurriedly answered the phone knowing that it was Killua.

"Killua?" He asked moving closer to the middle seat and let Phoenix put her ear against the phone to hear what their friend had to say.

"The woman's here. She's with her buddies" He told them, making their eyes widen before narrowing slightly, "There are six, moving together. The topknot guy's here too, Feitan isn't here thankfully" He said making Gon blanch at the mention on Nobu and Phoenix sigh in relief about Feitan. "One more thing. There' one more person that wasn't there yesterday. He's probably the leader"

Phoenix gasped at the last piece of information, she didn't think that he would show himself in public when he must have known that someone was coming after the Phantom Troupe and had already killed on of them.

"Can you describe him?" Gon asked.

"He's wearing a black coat, with St. Peter's cross on the back. He has combed-back black hair. I can't see his face. And their too alert!" Killua said, annoyed. Phoenix's lips quirk upwards for a moment, "I'm too afraid to circle around in front"

Before Gon could reply Kurapika turned around in his seat and held his hand out to Gon, "Let me speak to him" He demanded having heard the whole conversation from how high Gon has the volume on his phone. The blonde quickly put the phone to his ear once Gon had handed it to him, "Where are you now?" He asked demandingly.

"In front of the Motoba Building" Phoenix could faintly hear, as Kurapika looked over the map that he had in his lap and Gon leaned over the side of his chair and she leaned over Leorio's. "Their walking west, on Continental Street" Killua explained.

"There's a station nearby. Can you make it onto their train?" The blonde asked.

"It depends on the circumstances" Killua replied honestly, "If it's busy, I can manage it"

"Leorio, take us South" Kurapika suddenly instructed, as Leorio stuff the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and quickly put his seatbelt back on, before starting on the car and heading South.

There was a long silence as everybody in the car willed in to go faster. It wasn't until a few minutes later, that Gon's phone rang in Kurapika's hand, it was Killua.

"Melody's in the same car as they are. This trains headed toward Castor. I'm in the last car"

"Castor…" Kurapika repeated looking over the map again.

"The auction site's that way" Gon said as he was still leaning over the side of Kurapika's chair. Phoenix was back in her seat.

"So is out hotel…" Kurapika said, referring to his job.

The car was silent again, as they waited for Killua to called them back telling them where the spiders got off. It wasn't for another three minutes before they got the call.

"They got off at Liber Station. They're headed toward the Saloma Department Store exit" He explained to Kurapika.

"That's not good. The hotel's that way" Was all Kurapika said before hanging up again, and calling one of his colleagues that was at the hotel. The blonde quickly explained that the Phantom Troupe was coming to the hotel to steal the scarlet eyes that Kurapika had won at the auction, for the girl he was protecting.

"The stations over there" Leorio said as he stopped in traffic. "Shouldn't we get closer?" He asked curiously as they were quite a way away from the station.

"No" Kurapika said instantly. "If we get any closer, they might sense my animosity. Gon, the range I should stay at is the distance from here to the station entrance. I must attack from this distance if I don't want to be noticed" The blonde explained to the young boy. "It will take approximately 0.5 seconds to land an attack. That's more then enough time for them to evade it. Unless they're distracted…"

The four watched in stunned silence, as six of the spiders came out of the entrance and down the steps. Phoenix was staring at the middle one, the one that Killua described as the leader, he had wide almond shaped silver eyes, combed-back black hair and St. Peter's cross tattooed in the middle of his forehead.

Phoenix didn't know why but she felt a pull towards him, it wasn't like the pull she felt when every she was with Killua, or even thought about him, but this pull was different, stronger. She didn't know what it was about this man, but she could have sworn that has meet or at least seen him before.

Quickly racking her mind, she tried to think about where she might have seen him before, but she couldn't for the live of remember him from anywhere. Something in the back on her mind, that wasn't Tarkar was telling her that she knew this man, and that terrified her more then she cared to admit.

"Spiders!" Kurapika's hate filled exclamation drove Phoenix out of her thoughts, and back to the situation in front of them. She would think about it later, once all this was finished.

The four in the car watched as they spoke amongst themselves before quickly darting to the left, surprising all four of them with their speed.

"They're running toward the hotel! They're fast!" Kurapika exclaimed roughly.

"Can we get there faster by car?" Gon asked urgently.

"It's rush hour. They might be faster on foot" Leorio said annoyed.

"Not to mention they could take shortcuts and with their nen, they get there before we even get to the entrance of the station in the car" Phoenix said in a rush.

Before they could even think of something to do, the sound of a car door opening caused them look towards where Kurapika once sat only, to find it empty and the car door wide open.

"Kurapika!" Phoenix and Leorio yelled after him.

"Wait here until I contact you" They heard the blonde call back to them.

Quickly Phoenix turned to Gon, "Gon, you have to go after him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid!" She said as Gon nodded and was quick to follow the blond.

"Wait, Kurapika… I have a good idea! Kurapika!" He called out as he quickly ran after said male.

Moving over, Phoenix quickly closed the back door before climbing over the middle console and sat in the front seat and closing the car door. Quickly opening the glove box, Phoenix made a little nesk out of her scarf, that she unwrapped from around her neck, and placed her egg into the middle, before closing the compartment, knowing that it would be safe if there for a moment. Letting out a sigh Phoenix looked over to Leorio who shared her concerned look.

"They'll be okay, right?" Phoenix asked in a quiet, hesitant voice.

"Of course, they'll be okay!" Leorio was quick to reassure, even if it sounded like he was trying to reassure himself. Phoenix didn't comment on it, and instead looked out the front windscreen, trying to catch a glimpse her friends through the heavy rain.

Leorio's phone rang suddenly, causing the two left in the car to jump in surprise. Answering his phone quickly, he wasn't able to say anything as Killua beat him to it, "Leorio, where's Gon and Phoenix?" He asked urgently with worry.

"Gon went after Kurapika and Phoenix is still in the car with me. We were told to just wait, but I can't just sit around. I'm driving us to Hotel Beitacle, but we're stuck in traffic!" Leorio answered hurriedly.

"Fine!" Killua yelled into the phone making Leorio take it away from his ear slightly at the sheer loudness of it, "We're going after Kurapika!"

"Be careful Killua! Their fast!" Phoenix quickly said, before her boyfriend could answer, the line cut out making Phoenix sigh to herself.

Leorio turned to worried girl next to him as he drove down the street, "What should we do, Phoenix?" He asked knowing that the toxic green-eyed girl was good at thinking of the most effective course of action, in a snap.

Phoenix furrowed her brow trying to think of what they should do next. She knew that right now, Leorio was relying, on her not only for protection, if need be, but to also thinking up a plan, but it was harder than usual. _'What are we going to do? How can we help the three on foot? I could go after them, but then Leorio would be left defenceless against the troupe, in the tiny chance that they work out that he's working with Kurapika! What do I do?'_ She thought in a panic to herself.

"Phoenix!" Leorio suddenly shouted at the girl as she buried her head in her hands as se lent forward in a panic. She was usually so composed, but now she was panicking, and it was making the older teen start to feel panic rise up in his chest.

The young girl frozen all of a sudden, before dialling Kurapika's number, not saying anything to Leorio. She didn't have to wait long before the call was answered. She did not giving the blonde a chance to speak, before Phoenix spoke in a rush, "Kurapika! What's happened?" She asked.

" _Gon and Killua were captured, and the spiders are taking them to the hotel's lobby. Meet up there, and we can come up with a plan"_ Was all he said before hanging up again, making Phoenix groan in frustration.

Turning to the older teen next to her, Phoenix spoke in a calm but hurried voice, "Okay, Leorio we need to get the hotel as soon as possible, Gon and Killua were captured. Kurapika didn't tell me how but my guess is that he almost got caught, and Gon and Killua took the blame, knowing those three." She said sarcastically, making Leorio nod in agreement at the trio's recklessness, "I have a plan on how we can get them back, but I'll wait until we get to the hotel and pick Kurapika and that Melody woman up" She explained.

Leorio nodded, happy that Phoenix was calming down, and not panicking anymore, "You got it!" He said before stepping on the gas, going over the speed limit but neither of them cared, all they cared about was getting to the hotel and getting their friends back.

It didn't take them long to get to the hotel, where Phoenix quickly climbed into the back, so Kurapika could have the front seat but instead the blond took the back seat and a short woman took the front seat. She quickly introduced herself as Melody, before the four of them got to business about getting the two boys back.

"Okay, I have a plan to get Gon and Killua back" Phoenix started but was stopped by Kurapika.

"No, we need to stick to the plan" The blonde said, much to Phoenix's horror.

"What do you mean? The plan has changed, Kurapika! We need to get Gon and Killua back! Pakunoda isn't even there!" Phoenix said firmly.

Kurapika stared at Phoenix for a moment before nodding his head slightly, "You're right, I'm sorry" He said quietly.

Phoenix nodded her head, glad that Kurapika had come to his senses, "Okay here's the plan" She quickly explained everyone's roles, making sure that everyone understood perfectly.

Getting out the car, Phoenix and Melody made their way to the back of the hotel, without any trouble, where they entered through one of the emergencies exits. Once they were inside, Phoenix turned to the short woman next to her, "Alright, Melody, is there anyone near us?" She asked referring the Melody's amazing hearing.

Normally Phoenix would have just used her nen but she was using _Zetsu_ so the spiders hopefully wouldn't feel her nen and come for her and Melody.

Melody closed her eyes for a moment and put her hands behind her ears to help focus her hearing. Once she was finished she turned back to Phoenix, "There no one in the maintenance room or in the hallway, we're clear" She nodded.

Phoenix nodded, and quickly started to run down the hallway trying to be as quick as possible. The two came up to the maintenance door with no trouble at all.

Quickly entering the room, Phoenix looked around until she found the fuse box. Moving over to it, she opened it and found the switch for the lobby lights. Turning her head, she nodded at Melody who rung Leorio, letting him know that it was his turn in the plan. Hi role, was to send a message to Gon and Killua, and get out of the hotel when the lights turn off.

When Melody hung up, and turned back to Phoenix, "Leorio-san is telling Gon-san and Killua-san the message, we just need to wait until 7 o'clock now"

Phoenix nodded her understand, "Right, Melody, can you keep watch? I'll watch the clock. We'll need your ears to know if anyone is coming our way" She instructed.

"Of course," Melody said giving Phoenix a smile before turning to the door and closing her eyes, focusing on her hearing again.

Phoenix looked over at the clock that was hanging on the wall the fuse was on, and watch with bated breath and the clock hands slowly moved to make seven o'clock.

"Get ready, Melody, as soon as I flipped the switch, we need to leave as quickly as possible!" Phoenix said, determined for her plan to work so she could save two people who mean the world to her.

"Got it" Melody replied just as determined, she had only met Killua but she didn't want to see him or Gon hurt, they were only children.

' _Three…_ ' she started to count the seconds in the head _._

' _ **Two…'**_ Tarkar said next just as nervous as his host, he quite liked the two boys, they were amusing, so he didn't want them to get killed. Not to mention how much that would crush Phoenix.

' _ **ONE!'**_ The two said together as Phoenix flipped the switch.

 **A/N: Hey guys, I know that it's been awhile but just got stuck for the last part of the chapter, I didn't know what I wanted to write but I did it, slowly, but I did it. I thought I'd make an actual plan about how the lights turned off so I made it Phoenix's plan. This always means that we're seeing how strategic Phoenix is too.**

 **I have some great news too, I have an editor and they are amazing, they edited this whole chapter themselves and I'm very proud of how well they did so a big big big BIG thank you to** _ **LolforeverxD**_ **from Quotev, so go check them out, their amazing!**

 **Sadly no KillNix moments this chapter, but hopefully their will be more fluff coming up soon next chapter.**

 **Answer from last chapter: My least favourite character from HxH is Pouf! I've never liked him for some reasons and I doubt I ever will.**

 **Question of the chapter: What is your favourite fight in HxH?**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfiction, I love you guys.**

 **Please follow, favourite and review, I would really appreciate it.**


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